Agricultural protests in Spain earlier this year, especially in Almeria, highlighted the growing tension with Morocco, accused of unfair competition for having better conditions to sell their products than local producers. However, according to Plataforma Tierra de Cajamar, imports of Moroccan products have decreased by 4.4% this campaign mainly because of a decrease in tomato and zucchini volumes due to the high temperatures that complicated production.
Currently, the main competitors of Almeria producers are the Netherlands and Turkey, which have increased exports by 14.4% and 11.8%, respectively. The Netherlands has benefited from the drop in energy prices, which has allowed it to resume production with artificial light and significantly increase cucumber sales. On the other hand, despite having a lower market share, Turkey shows great productive potential by orienting itself more towards the European market due to geopolitical circumstances.
In Europe, tomatoes led demand with 1,852,000 tons, followed by peppers. Despite inflation, the European Union and the United Kingdom have increased their purchases by 5.1%, diversifying their markets and favoring the Netherlands and Turkey over Morocco.
Contrary to the general trend in the EU, Spain has increased its imports of Moroccan tomatoes, doubling its purchase volume since 2015. In addition, Portugal has emerged as an important supplier, capturing part of the market France has lost in the past decade.
Source: diariodealmeria.es