A bilateral agreement between Moroccan and French tomato producers is set to be signed in mid-March to better regulate the presence of Moroccan cherry tomatoes in the French market, according to reports from Réussir. The deal aims to prevent Moroccan producers from directly competing with local French production at the beginning of the season.
Historically, Moroccan tomatoes were available off-season, complementing French supply. However, with the growth of greenhouse production in southern Morocco and the increase in cherry tomato cultivation, this balance has been disrupted.
Moroccan cherry tomatoes are now being produced at lower costs due to cheaper labor and irrigation from desalinated seawater. As a result, they appear on French shelves at the start of the season, priced more competitively than local produce, creating tensions between the two sectors.
Ongoing discussions over the past few months have paved the way for a compromise. The French-Moroccan joint committee on fruits and vegetables, inactive since 2019, was reactivated during the French president’s state visit to Rabat last October. Since then, several meetings between producer representatives have taken place, including during the Meknès Agricultural Fair in April 2024 and the Paris Agricultural Fair in February 2025. The anticipated agreement will formalize commitments regarding the seasonality of Moroccan tomato imports.
This rapprochement between the two sectors comes at a time when Morocco has been prominently featured at several agricultural events in France, including as a guest at the Agricultural Fair and the Medfel fair for fruits and vegetables, scheduled for April 23 and 24 in Perpignan. The development signals a thaw in economic relations between Paris and Rabat following a period of diplomatic tensions.
