A Spanish association voices its «concerns» over the growth of Moroccan exports to the EU

Apparently, the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued on the 21st of December 2016 couldn’t fully impact trade between Morocco and the European Union. Data published on November the 1st by the Spanish Federation of Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX) support the aforementioned hypothesis.

The organization noticed «strong growth» in the Kingdom’s agricultural exports to the EU market and most precisely the one of Spain between January and August 2017, 14% and 24% growth respectively, compared to the same period the previous year.

FEPEX estimates that this increase is «worrying». The organization argues that products bearing the Moroccan label entering the European Union «coincide with those of Spain without automatically taking into consideration the measures provided by the agricultural agreement intended to prevent this kind of disruption in the common market».

Fears raised by FEPEX regarding agricultural investment programs in Morocco

Morocco’s exports to the EU is not the only thing that the federation is worried about, FEPEX has also raised concerns over «the major investment programs» put forward by the Moroccan government to develop fruit and vegetable farming. A strategy that aims to reach the Russian, Chinese and African markets.

Indeed, the European Parliament’s rejection of the fishing agreement in 2011 and the ruling of the EUCJ in December 2016 show that it is risky to solely depend on the EU market.

The FEPEX’s concerns come just a few days after the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, held talks with Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the 23rd of October in Brussels, Belgium. The two officials discussed during their meeting ways to overcome the obstacles put by the December 2016 ruling.

In October 2009, around fifteen thousand people took the streets in Almeria demanding from the Spanish government to renew the agricultural agreement with Morocco.