The European tomato industry has voiced concerns about what it sees as the "disappearance" of crucial data on imports from Morocco and Western Sahara. Producers and exporters criticize the lack of updated information and call for greater transparency and for the European Commission to adhere to EU rules.
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development has stated on its official website that, "due to delays in data transmission by some customs authorities, import data since October 2025 is significantly below the usual levels."
The published graphs show a steep decline since October 2025, compared to the average for 2020-2024 and to 2024. In October, 8,497 tons of tomato imports from Morocco and Western Sahara were recorded, compared to an average of 66,675 tons between 2020 and 2024 and 71,463 tons in October 2024. In November, 11,164 tons were reported (71,643 tons in November 2024), and in December 2025, 12,875 tons, a significant drop from the 65,500 tons in the same month the previous year.
In light of these figures, the sector has stepped up its efforts in recent weeks to clarify what it views as an anomaly in the official statistics.
Andrés Góngora, COAG's State Manager for fruit and vegetables, noted that despite issues with data transmission, shipments are still arriving at EU markets as usual.
Góngora also cautioned that the situation might worsen due to the "opacity" in the changes to the marketing regulations for fruit and vegetables, which were negotiated with Morocco last November. He explained that the new rule creates an exception to the EU regulations that require indicating the country of origin on products sold within the EU.
Ignacio Antequera, Director of the Spanish Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Exporting Producers' Associations (Fepex), told Efeagro that, for some time, import volumes to various EU destinations have not been accurately reported. He believes this lack of data hinders the assessment of the true effect of the October-approved modification to the EU-Morocco agreement.
The Spanish sector opposes this amendment because, according to its interpretation, it extends the tariff preferences of the EU-Morocco association agreement to products from Western Sahara.
Juan Jesús Lara, President of the Tomato Committee, stressed that the Commission needs to submit the data within a specified deadline, which is not currently being met. He clarified that "there is nothing hidden," but some countries are not reporting their import quantities. He also admitted he does not know which Member States are causing the delay.
Source: efeagro.com
