Morocco to respond to EU tomato import restrictions

Morocco is busy probing legal and regulatory aspects of the European decision to require as of January 2000 import certificates for Moroccan tomatoes and will respond shortly to Brussels move, said government spokesman Khalid Alioua.

Briefing the press after the weekly government council, he said an ad-hoc committee was working on the European decision which might have adverse effect on cooperation relations.

Morocco, an advocate of wider relations within the frameworks of North-South partnership and Euro-Mediterranean policy and which strived to enhance exports to Europe, was "surprised" at the unilateral decision and turns it down, he said.

The 1999-2000 campaign recorded an increase of 5% in Moroccan tomato exports to Europe which totaled 244,000 tons.