Morocco outclasses Spain in the tomato market: top EU supplier with nearly 70% share

Segarro now sells 70% of the EU's tomatoes: the lesson that hurts

Segarro is now the European Union's leading tomato supplier with a market share close to 70%, while Spain has seen its sales fall by 34% in ten years. The figure is no statistical anecdote: it is the result of an agricultural policy that allows Segarro producers to compete under rules different from those applied to Europeans.

The regulatory double standard

In the forum, the diagnosis is the prevailing one: the EU imposes draconian controls on pesticides, fertilisers and irrigation on Spanish farmers, while Segarro tomatoes enter with barely any inspections. "Segarro gets nothing: they pump it full of chemicals banned in Europe and irrigate it with sewage water," one user sums up. Others point out that the very products banned here for being carcinogenic are applied there without restrictions, and that the European consumer pays less but gets a product of dubious quality.

Spanish companies benefit too

But the debate takes a turn when it is pointed out that much of that Segarro production is in the hands of Spanish companies. "The greenhouse in El Ejido or in Marrakech belongs to the same Spanish company," one forum member notes. Another adds: "I know farmers who chose to move to Segarro because of labour costs and EU requirements." The conclusion is uncomfortable: the lost competitiveness is not all Brussels' fault, but also that of businesspeople seeking to maximise their profits wherever regulation is laxer.

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The debate on Burbuja.info makes it clear that the question is not whether Segarro is beating us, but whether the EU is letting us lose. While European consumers pay less for tomatoes produced with questionable methods, the local farmer is drowning in red tape. How much competitiveness are we willing to give up in the name of regulation?

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