Moroccan tomatoes has outperformed Spain’s in UK Market. According to Diario de Almeria, UK reduced its tomato purchases from Spain by 24.1% between January and November 2021.
Diario de Almeria quoted data compiled by Hortoinfo, saying that Moroccan tomato exports increased thanks to the association agreement signed between the UK and Morocco following Brexit.
British importers bought a total of 79.1 million kilograms of Spanish tomatoes between January and November 2020. The number fell to 60 million kilograms in the same period of 2021. Meanwhile, the UK bought a total of 72.8 million kilograms of tomatoes from Morocco in the same period in 2020. The number amounted to 97.3 million in the same period of 2021.
EU Agricultural Outlook 2021-2031
Data shows that the Netherlands, Morocco, and Spain provide the UK with 91.36% of their tomatoes. In addition to the EU, Morocco remains the number one provider of fresh tomatoes to the EU, according to EU Agricultural Outlook 2021-2031.
Morocco’s tomatoes have been a source of concern for Spanish farmers for years. In 2021, a group of European agriculture producers from several countries, including Spain, expressed concerns over the increasing presence of Moroccan products in EU markets.
In October 2021, 200 farmers from Almeria, Spain, as well as representatives of fruit and vegetable companies, staged a protest around the port of the city against Spain’s importing of Moroccan agricultural products.
Data from Fresh Plaza said last year that the EU’s import of tomatoes from Morocco increased by 26% in the past five years. EU imports of tomatoes moved from 344,094 tonnes in 2016 to 435,041 tonnes in 2020.
