Spain Doubles Warnings About Avocados Coming from Morocco
Warnings from Spanish authorities regarding avocados imported from non-EU countries, particularly Morocco, have intensified due to excessive use of cadmium in fertilizers. This has led to repeated health alerts at the Spanish borders in parallel with increasing import volumes. The Spanish news site “eldebate” highlighted that this trend continues despite Spain being the top avocado producer in Europe, noting the growing imports of this fruit from foreign countries, which exacerbates the challenges faced by local producers striving to secure fair prices for their crops.
In the first four months of 2025, Spain recorded seven alerts related to avocados, compared to just three during the same period in 2024, marking an increase of 133%. Most of these cases involved imported products from Peru and Morocco, due to exceeding the allowed limits of cadmium residues according to European standards. The Valencia Agricultural Unions Federation expressed concern over the contradictions in the sector, where the European Commission imposes strict restrictions on cadmium usage within Europe but permits imports from third countries that contain these banned substances without a clear response from European authorities.
Preliminary data for 2025 shows a noticeable increase in avocado imports, with January seeing a rise of 68%, and imports from Morocco jumping by 89%. Consequently, the domestic price of Lamb Hass avocados collapsed by 29%, dropping from €2.44 per kilogram in March 2024 to €1.73 in March 2025, putting additional pressure on Spanish farmers.
The agricultural union has called for increasing the level of inspection on fruits and vegetables at the borders to 50% for one year for countries with the highest rates of violations, proposing a temporary halt on imports if warnings exceed 5% in any month. This is aimed at protecting consumer health and ensuring fair competition in the European market.
