Written question asked by Baroness Clark of Kilwinning (Labour) on Monday, 4 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 6 January 2010. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Tomatoes: Morocco

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken in response to the breach by Morocco of the (a) export volumes and (b) input prices provisions of the Partnership Agreement with the EU in respect of tomato exports.

Answer: The EU Commission is responsible for the negotiation, monitoring and control of the Partnership Agreement. This includes monitoring of the situation via analysis of customs import data as well as market intelligence and prices gathered from member states, particularly Spain and France who are most affected by such imports. We understand that Commission officials regularly meet with the Moroccan authorities and representatives of their horticulture sector to ensure compliance with the Agreement. It should be noted that there is no limit on the amount of tomatoes that Morocco can import into the EU. The agreement includes a quota which can be imported at a preferential rate of import duty, but imports outside are subject to the normal rates of import duty.

Secondary information