Exports of Fruits and Vegetables to the EU: policy recommendations

Growth in trade of fruit and vegetables (F&V) in the Mediterranean region, especially in Morocco, slowed down during the COVID-19 crisis. While reductions in trade of F&V are likely to be associated with shocks caused by the pandemic, the long-lasting effects of a well-established system of policy interventions in the sector should not be neglected. In other words, the effects of the COVID pandemic have only altered the volumes of F&V trade from Mediterranean countries. However, the continued occurrence of excess (low priced) imports of F&V from the Mediterranean region reinforces policy recommendations that point at the need to reform trade policy. The EU import regime should be simplified, by relaxing the controls on prices of imported F&V, and by negotiating off-season import quotas. The former would shrink running costs while the latter would lower competition among EU producers and Mediterranean traders.