No traceability, urgent duty of vigilance: facing the impacts of the EU-Morocco agreements
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23 July 2025
by Tomate sahraouie
The increasing liberalization of trade in agricultural products between Morocco and the European Union, particularly tomatoes, has led to the emergence of an intensive agro-export model with serious social and environmental consequences. This same model, which Morocco has been applying since the 2000s in Western Sahara (a territory under military and administrative control since 1975), is now being imposed there with even greater vigor with the implementation of the Generation Green 2020-2030 strategy. Tomatoes have thus become a symbol of economic exploitation synonymous with servitude for Western Sahara.
However, Moroccan tomatoes, like those grown in Western Sahara, fill the shelves of supermarkets without consumers being aware of the social, political, and environmental issues involved. In the face of this lack of transparency, could an informed boycott become an act of activism? How can we get large retailers, which claim to have CSR practices in place, to guarantee transparency in their supply chains? In the face of unfair trade agreements that fuel ecocidal and anti-social economic models, there is a solution for informed consumers and activists: duty of care laws. These laws require companies to ensure that their international activities comply with social and environmental standards, paving the way for more ethical and sustainable trade.
Social and environmental issues addressed by the duty of vigilance
The duty of vigilance can mitigate the negative effects of trade agreements between the EU and Morocco, particularly issues related to water use, working conditions, intensive agriculture, and the political dimension surrounding Western Sahara.
French Law No. 2017-399 of March 27, 2017 requires large companies (with at least 5,000 employees in France or 10,000 worldwide) to establish, publish, and implement a vigilance plan. This plan must include risk mapping, assessment procedures, preventive measures, an alert mechanism, and a monitoring system to prevent serious violations of human rights, health, safety, and the environment. This obligation covers their direct activities, as well as those of their subsidiaries, subcontractors, and suppliers with whom they have a stable, regular, and significant business relationship, whether formalized by contract or not.
Applying the duty of vigilance to relations between French retailers and Moroccan tomato suppliers involves identifying risks throughout the supply chain. This also illustrates a profound change in international commercial responsibility. Retailers and their suppliers can no longer limit themselves to a purely commercial approach: they must integrate social and environmental criteria. This particularly concerns large Moroccan agro-industrial groups that dominate tomato production in Morocco and Western Sahara, such as Azura, Idyl, and Les Domaines Agricoles.
The duty of vigilance law is thus transforming the sourcing practices of French supermarkets, while becoming a powerful legal tool for NGOs and associations denouncing unfair trade agreements. The duty of vigilance embodies the growing pressure from civil society, which is demanding greater transparency and accountability from economic actors in order to promote more ethical trade.
Nothing to hide: mass retailers face tough demands
Some would say that applying due diligence is just wishful thinking, since French retailers go through their European purchasing centers. Indeed, structures such as Eurelec Trading SCRL (E.Leclerc/Rewe, based in Brussels) and Eureca (Carrefour, based in Madrid) negotiate purchases on a European scale, creating geographical and legal distance from Moroccan suppliers and a certain opacity for activists seeking to denounce this system. However, even if the implementation of due diligence obligations is more complex, this relocation of negotiations does not exempt French retailers. Above all, a European directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (CS3D), inspired by French law, was passed in May 2024. It strengthens French obligations by extending the thresholds for application and providing for penalties of up to 5% of global turnover.
Another major problem is the lack of transparency among large retailers regarding the origin of tomatoes from Morocco and Western Sahara. Among the many products available on store shelves, only Carrefour explicitly mentions two products from Western Sahara. However, the retailer also sells tomatoes labeled “Morocco,” featuring the same Azura packaging as Sahrawi products, even though the producer operates in both territories. Coopérative U goes even further in its lack of transparency by selling Sahrawi tomatoes without indicating their origin, which raises serious questions.
In general, large retailers (Carrefour, Coopérative U, E.Leclerc, Intermarché, Lidl, and Auchan) struggle to clearly identify the origin of Moroccan tomatoes sold on their shelves, particularly when they come from Western Sahara. Even more concerning is that they are often unaware of the actual production conditions and the resulting social and environmental impacts. This lack of clarity around traceability opens the door to numerous abuses, including human rights violations, unbridled exploitation of water resources, and various environmental violations. Is this simply a lack of information or a deliberate choice to remain ignorant? Far from taking action, retailers seem to prefer to look the other way. So what is their CSR communication worth, if not a form of hypocrisy?
Given such a lack of transparency on many issues, there are ways to take action. While large companies are legally required to prevent social and environmental risks in their supply chains, citizen mobilization can bring about greater transparency and accountability. It should not be forgotten that these shortcomings are also a direct consequence of trade agreements between the European Union and Morocco.
Thus, a French company that has a commercial relationship with a tomato supplier in Morocco—including in the occupied territories—must incorporate these risks into its due diligence plan. It is required to take concrete measures to prevent or mitigate them, including by imposing them on its supplier.
Above all, the main Moroccan tomato suppliers – such as Azura, Idyl and Les Domaines Agricoles – have subsidiaries in France and are also subject to the duty of vigilance, whether under French law or the future European directive. Furthermore, these subsidiaries are not insignificant. For example, Disma International (a subsidiary of Azura, a major tomato producer and world leader in cherry tomatoes) has a logistics base in Perpignan, which is a central link in the group’s European supply chain. Located in the Grand Saint-Charles area, this 11,000 m² fully refrigerated platform handles the reception, storage, and shipment of products from Morocco and Western Sahara. Approximately 150 employees work there in support functions (logistics, sales, HR, etc.). Every year, 180,000 tons of tomatoes are exported to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and beyond. With 18,000 employees worldwide, Azura posted a turnover of €475.1 million in 2024, with Perpignan playing a key role.
French and Moroccan companies profiting from the economic exploitation of Western Sahara are within reach. Let’s hold them accountable!
