A leading Moroccan minister has criticised Spanish attempts to halt the ratification of the north African country’s agreement of association with the European Union, arguing that his country's exports pale in significance when compared with the likes of the Netherlands.
The trade deal, which is currently awaiting approval before the European Parliament, would provide Moroccan companies with preferential export quotas for a range of products including, significantly, tomatoes.
Spanish claims of ‘unfair’ Moroccan tomato exports have been rife over the past 12 months, with leading Spanish fresh produce organisations accusing Morocco of undermining Iberian growers by failing to respect minimum import prices.
However, Moroccan minister for the exterior, Taieb Fassi-Fihri, this week hit back at the allegations, claiming that the country’s exports to the EU were low compared with production in Spain’s own Canary Islands.
“Countries such as Spain criticise the agreement and the fact that Morocco has increased its tomato exports from 250,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes over the past four years, while millions of tonnes come from the Canary Islands alone and Dutch exports exceed those of Morocco” he told Spanish news agency EFE.
However, despite the opposition, Mr Fassi-Fihri said he was confident that the agreement would move forward because relations between Europe and Morocco were well-established and governments in the EU were “aware of its importance”.
