French producers of cherry tomatoes protested on Friday the all-pervasiveness of their Moroccan agricultural counterpart, regarding all aspects of their presence (i.e., price, quantity, and packaging) in the country, reported French outlet RMC.
Much to their chagrin, their inescapable Moroccan rivals cost less than 1 euro/kg in French supermarkets, and are available throughout the year due to the country’s favorable climate, contrary to French ones that cost significantly more and are seasonal.
A French farmer stated that producers in the country have higher standards of production, and that salaries are 17 times higher than in Morocco, as the climate is different, which obviously provides a comparative advantage to the latter.
He added that because of this high concurrence, he threw away seven skids of tomatoes last week, in providing his opinion that it is inconceivable when one is talking about food sovereignty.
General Secretary of the Veggies de France Growers’ Federation Bruno Vila advocated for the promotion of French products and French farming, and for disclosing the denomination of product origin in large lettering on the packaging.