فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Long a subject of discord, tomatoes are now at the center of a potential agreement being negotiated between France and Morocco.
A bilateral agreement is expected to be signed between representatives of Moroccan and French tomato producers. This information was revealed last Friday by the French specialized media Réussir.fr, which mentioned mid-March as the timeframe for finalizing the agreement.
“The goal is to agree on seasonality so that Moroccan and French cherry tomatoes do not overlap on store shelves during the French season,” stated the French media. The aim of this agreement is to prevent Moroccan cherry tomatoes from directly competing with French production.
For a long time, Moroccan tomatoes complemented French supply during the off-season. However, the development of greenhouse production in southern Morocco and the rise of the cherry tomato segment have disrupted this balance.
Thanks to lower production costs, largely due to more competitive labor and the use of desalinated seawater for irrigation, Moroccan cherry tomatoes now appear on shelves at the start of the French season. Offered at much more attractive prices than those of local producers, they have caused tensions between the two industries.
Despite these disputes, discussions initiated over several months have paved the way for a compromise. Under the impetus of the agriculture ministries of both countries, the Franco-Moroccan Joint Committee for Fruits and Vegetables, which had been inactive since 2019, was revived during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Rabat last October.
Since then, several meetings have brought together representatives of producers, notably at the International Agriculture Fair of Meknes (SIAM) in April 2024 and the International Agriculture Fair (SIA) in Paris in February 2025. The agreement in preparation is expected to formalize commitments regarding the seasonality of Moroccan imports.
This new agreement, beyond resolving disputes related to cherry tomatoes, reflects a shared desire to strengthen economic synergies between France and Morocco.
