Do Moroccan products indeed pose a threat to European farmers?

Facing the pressures of stringent agricultural practices, European farmers have felt outmatched by imports from outside the EU. Since the onset of the year, agriculturalists in France and Spain have taken issue with the influx of Moroccan products, leading to direct actions against transporters of these goods. Moroccan officials and agricultural representatives have responded by pointing to trade agreements, noting the significant increase in EU imports into Morocco.
Protest Actions Ignite Beginning in early February, protests against the importation of Moroccan fruits and vegetables took a confrontational turn. Demonstrators, armed with signs decrying "unfair competition" and accusing Morocco of flooding the EU market with "inferior quality products," greeted the transporting trucks. The dispute escalated as farmers in France and Spain resorted to arson, targeting trucks and destroying loads of tomatoes and other goods. Those who dodged direct attacks faced delays due to blockades, incurring fines from their clients.
Exporters were understandably alarmed by these aggressive tactics. They observed that the protests targeted trucks heading not just to EU destinations, but also to the United Kingdom, which isn't an EU member. The situation drew parallels to pirate attacks in the Red Sea, with exporter Oussama Machi comparing the European protests to Houthi pirate activities. Machi highlighted that the financial burdens of these protests fell on the exporters, with neither the transporters nor insurance companies willing to assume responsibility.
Growing EU Exports to Morocco Amid escalating tensions, the Moroccan government issued a formal response. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met with his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, in Rabat to discuss the matter. Bourita emphasized that the trade agreements between Morocco and the EU were founded on meticulously negotiated standards aimed at ensuring mutual benefits. Thus, claims of Moroccan products being of poor quality were dismissed as baseless.
He also pointed out the EU’s advantage from these agreements, underlining that EU exports to Morocco have surged far more than Moroccan exports to the EU in recent years.
The trade relationship is governed by a partnership agreement, under which agricultural exchanges are facilitated by specific provisions. An agreement enacted in 2012 affords Moroccan agricultural exports preferential access to the EU market and vice versa, eliminating tariffs but imposing price thresholds and quantity limits to regulate trade flows.
In response to growing discontent from both European farmers and Moroccan exporters, the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (COMADER) issued a statement. It asserted that Moroccan agricultural exports to the EU are characterized by high quality and compliance with stringent import standards. It was noted that Moroccan agricultural exports to the EU had risen by 15% in 2021-2022, with a notable increase in exports to Spain by 2%, while EU agricultural exports to Morocco spiked by 75%, and Spain’s by 20%.
Furthermore, exporter O. Machi added that Morocco experiences a trade deficit with countries like France and Spain, highlighting the economic benefits of such trade for the European nations involved. According to "Newarab," Morocco was the leading tomato supplier to the EU in 2022, offering a more cost-effective option for consumers and retailers alike due to the lower labor costs involved in production.