The Moroccan and Spanish governments have reached a trade agreement that will simplify the inspection of Moroccan agricultural products landing on Spain’s shores before they enter the European market.
Citing the Moroccan news site Hespress, La Gaceta reports the two governments have agreed that Spain will accept the inspection documents of Moroccan authorities—specifically the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA)—for agricultural products. This is meant to streamline the entry of these products into the EU and eliminate inspections by Spanish authorities, which carry out both onsite inspections of Moroccan farms and random inspections at ports of entry.
According to La Gaceta, “the agreement seeks to resolve obstacles Moroccan agricultural products can face when entering the European market, especially in relation to permitted levels of pesticides.” The change in import process was reportedly raised by Morocco during the bilateral talks.
The consequences could be “devastating” for Spanish farmers, La Gaceta said, as it will be easier for Moroccan products to compete with their Spanish counterparts, echoing concerns by Spanish farmers who earlier this year spent weeks protesting unfair competition from Morocco.
At the same time, Morocco has strengthened controls on Spanish food imports. “It is our right and our duty to care about public health, just as European countries do,” a Moroccan government source said.
According to La Gaceta, Rabat recognises that the regulation and inspection regimes EU countries require are designed to guarantee the health of their citizens, but they consider it essential to find a more balanced approach to avoid “arbitrary or excessive” regulations.
Concerns about the safety of Moroccan agrifood imports arose last year following headlines that a shipment of strawberries from the country were found to have Hepatitis A during a port inspection. While these strawberries were not allowed to enter the EU market, VOX called for more inspections of Moroccan products.
Shipments of perishable products such as strawberries selected for inspection at ports are often lost to the market whether or not they are ultimately deemed safe, as they usually lose freshness and become unsellable while awaiting lab test results.
The EU and Morocco have had a free trade agreement since 1996, expanded in 2012. The trade balance is quite favorable to the EU. In 2023, according to the EU, the bloc exported some €33 billion worth of goods and services to Morocco and imported €23 billion. One of the main imports from Morocco is textiles, which is not surprising, considering the Spanish company Inditex, the parent company of Zara, and several clothing brands manufactures in the country. Fisheries agreements also allow Spanish ships to fish in Moroccan waters, which is vital to Spain’s fishing industry as quantities of fish and other edible species in Spanish waters have greatly diminished.
Some Spanish growers have also moved their operations to foreign countries, including Morocco, years ago to take advantage of lower production costs. For example, it is now well known that the brand Los Maragato, based in Astorga in northeast Spain, has been growing most of its chickpeas in Chile for years. However, the Spanish public was scandalized following headlines that what was considered an iconic local product was often grown in South America and imported back to Spain. Such uproar did little to change market dynamics or Spanish trade policy, as it appears will be the case with fresh produce imported from Morocco.
