The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development has acknowledged the issue in a statement published on its website, noting that “due to delays in data transmission by some customs authorities, import data since October 2025 are well below normal levels.”
A review of the Commission’s official charts confirms that, since October 2025, recorded imports have been significantly lower than both the 2020–2024 average and 2024 levels.
In October 2025, the EU imported 8,497 tonnes of tomatoes from Morocco and Western Sahara, compared with an average of 66,675 tonnes in the 2020–2024 period and 71,463 tonnes in October 2024.
In November 2025, imports from that origin totalled 11,164 tonnes (compared with 71,643 tonnes in November 2024), and in December 2025 they reached 12,875 tonnes, well below the 65,500 tonnes recorded in December 2024.
Against this backdrop, producers and exporters have launched what they describe as an “offensive” in recent weeks to clarify what they consider the “disappearance” of official European Commission statistics on tomato imports from Morocco and Western Sahara.
Sector reaction
Andrés Góngora, national head of fruit and vegetable affairs at COAG (Spain’s Coordinating Body of Farmers’ and Livestock Organisations), warned that beyond the issue of data transmission, “shipments continue to arrive at EU markets as normal.”
However, he pointed to a worsening situation due to what he described as a lack of transparency regarding changes to EU fruit and vegetable marketing standards negotiated with Morocco last November.
“This rule introduces an unprecedented exception to EU standards, which currently require products sold on the EU market to indicate their country of origin,” he said.
Concerns over the EU–Morocco agreement
Ignacio Antequera, director of FEPEX (Spanish Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Exporters), told Efeagro that the core problem for the sector is clear: “For some time now, import volumes from Morocco have not been reflected in different EU destinations.”
According to Antequera, the absence of up-to-date data makes it impossible to assess the real impact of the modification to the EU–Morocco agreement approved last October.
RELATED NEWS: Competition from the Sahara threatens the spanish tomato sector
That amendment — which sparked strong opposition from Spanish farmers — extends tariff preferences under the EU–Morocco Association Agreement to products originating in Western Sahara.
“There is certainly still Moroccan tomato production being marketed in Europe,” Antequera added, noting that import volumes have increased in recent years.
Juan Jesús Lara, president of Spain’s Tomato Committee, stressed that the Commission is required to report data within a specific timeframe and “is not doing so.” He acknowledged that “there is nothing hidden,” but argued that the issue is straightforward: “Member States are not reporting the quantities,” although he said he did not know which countries were involved.
European coordination and campaign
Tomato producers have sought to coordinate across producing regions to raise awareness of the issue.
The Contact Group for Tomatoes of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which met in February, highlighted that the agreement with Morocco “has already caused serious damage” to the Spanish sector.
In addition, Spain’s export federation has launched the campaign “We Tomato Europe, Don’t Betray EU Tomato,” aimed at defending EU production and calling on Brussels to pursue a fair and coherent trade policy.
