Spain's agricultural organization of young farmers (ASAJA Murcia) has said that Egypt is "undoubtedly" a major threat to the fruit and vegetable sector in Murcia and, therefore, the country.

"Since they also commit 'social dumping,' it is very important to strengthen phytosanitary controls to prevent the spread of pests and diseases entering Europe," it said.

In this regard, the secretary general of ASAJA Murcia, Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, said, “It is very difficult to compete with countries like Egypt, where their costs are tiny compared to ours. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen phytosanitary controls for Egyptian exports.”

He added, "Egyptian exports of fruit and vegetables continue to grow, and we are eroding commercial hegemony in the European market.”

For his part, Juan de Dios Hernandez, president of ASAJA Murcia, said that “it is vital that the European Union put in place measures to protect European producers of fruit and vegetables, and the most important would be to apply tariff rates to third countries like Egypt, who want access to the European market.”

In that sense, Hernandez explained that “we cannot be competitive against countries like Egypt, so European leaders have to work to defend our interests because we are losing market share in Europe by leaps and bounds.”

“Europe's agreement with Mercosur is a big problem, but Egypt is another big threat, which seriously threatens our interests, and we cannot continue to lose profitability in marketing our products,” Juan de Dios Hernandez stressed.