French farmers take action against the import of Moroccan tomatoes – Telquel.ma

Ltomato producers denounce a “situation largely favored by inoperative customs agreements” and with “legislation on information on the origin of fruit and vegetables is largely inadequate”, in a press release from the organization Légumes de France, a specialized association of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA).

About ten producers placed ‘Morocco’ stickers on Friday morning on the tomatoes offered for sale at Bon-Encontre Intermarché, in the Agen region (Lot-et-Garonne).

This operation was intended to “to increase consumer awareness and showcase French production“, while the first French tomatoes are coming onto the market, confirms Nathalie Binda, farmer from Lot-et-Garonne, who regrets that the origin of cherry tomatoes “marked in small letters on the side of the tray”.

Pesticides banned in France

Jonas Holaar, a tomato producer in this southwestern department, often presented as the “orchard of France,” denounces a “unfair competition”, reminiscent of the very low cost of Moroccan labor and the use of pesticides banned in France “for more than thirty years”.

In Brest, about twenty farmers carried out a similar action, according to a spokesperson for the organization Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Vegetables from France. About ten others also stuck orange “Origine Maroc” labels on containers of cherry tomatoes in two supermarkets in the Rennes metropolis.

“We also reject this free trade agreement between Europe and Morocco, which allows the country to export tomatoes to Europe virtually without customs duties.“, Ronan Collet, chairman of the vegetable department of FDSEA 35, told AFP.

These actions reflect the comments made by the Secretary General of Légumes de France last June on BFM TV. “French producers are angry, they have been taking action on supermarket shelves since yesterday afternoon and today“, he explained. And to add: “We find it unacceptable that in the middle of the French production season there are so many Moroccan tomatoes on the shelves that have not been identified.”

Tomato exports are worrying not only French but also Spanish producers, who once had a dominant position on the European tomato market.