The Coordinator of Farmers' and Livestock Breeders' Organisations (COAG) demanded that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs enforce the Court of Justice of the European Union's ruling regarding controlling the labelling of products from Western Sahara in Spanish territory. The ruling, made public on October 4, requires fruits and vegetable products from Western Sahara to indicate their origin on their labels.
© COAG
COAG sent a letter to Pablo Bustinduy, the Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda, asking what actions are being taken to ensure the proper and effective application of the ruling, which upholds COAG's position on the need to protect consumers from possible fraudulent practices in the labelling of certain fruits and vegetables from Western Sahara.
© COAG
According to the COAG, the presence of certain imported vegetables that bear the 'Morocco' origin label (but are produced by companies that also have production in Western Sahara) has increased in supermarkets in recent seasons. Spanish cherry tomato imports, for example, grew by 269% in the 2014-2024 period. "The rights of the people who consume these products are being violated because these large companies produce them in Western Sahara for export and, surprisingly, no one has seen a vegetable labeled with this origin anywhere in the EU," stated Andrés Góngora, head of COAG's fruit and vegetable sector. "It's clear that the real origin of the products is being deliberately concealed, affecting the interests of consumers, producers, and the Sahrawi population itself. This cannot be ignored by the competent authorities, especially when there is a clear court ruling that had to be enforced since its publication in October."
COAG has repeatedly argued that the Association Agreement between the EU and Morocco violates the rights of consumers in the EU and is not in line with European legislation on the labelling of fruit and vegetables, as recognized by last October's ruling, given that it limits consumers' ability to discern whether a product labeled as originating in Morocco comes from that country or Western Sahara.
For more information:
COAG
www.coag.org