Exporting Greenhouse Tomatoes from Morocco to the EU: Requirements for Production Projects

Official sources reviewed 2026-10-23. Orientation only, not legal advice.

Short answer

Tomato fruit entering the EU from Morocco needs a phytosanitary certificate issued by ONSSA and must meet the EU's pest-specific conditions for tomato fruit, the EU maximum residue levels and the EU marketing standard for tomatoes. Since 1 January 2025 the EU's ToBRFV rules apply to tomato plants for planting, including seed, not to harvested fruit. A production project should therefore budget for pest surveillance and traceability at the production site, residue monitoring, and a packhouse able to grade to the EU classes.

Official requirements

Each line names the authority, jurisdiction and the date of the source read.

Topic	Requirement	Authority · source
Phytosanitary certificate	Tomato fruit is a regulated fruit under Annex XI of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. The certificate is issued by the exporting country's plant-protection organisation after inspection.	European Commission (DG SANTE)EU · Live guidance page, read 23 Oct 2026
Pest-specific conditions for tomato fruit	Annex VII points 68 (Neoleucinodes elegantalis) and 69 (Keiferia lycopersicella) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 require one of several official assurances: pest-free country, pest-free area or pest-free place of production (point 68 also allows an insect-proof site of production). For point 68, country freedom counts only if the exporting country's plant-protection organisation has communicated it to the Commission in advance. The option used determines the surveillance and declaration needed.	European Union (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072)EU · Consolidated text of 6 July 2026
Morocco's declared option for point 68	The Commission's table of declarations received from non-EU countries records Morocco under Annex VII point 68 (Neoleucinodes elegantalis) as "country freedom", communicated in September 2019. Point 69 (Keiferia lycopersicella) is not in that table, because its country-freedom option does not require advance communication; the option used appears on each phytosanitary certificate.	European Commission (DG SANTE), summary of third-country declarationsEU / Morocco · Spreadsheet dated 15 Oct 2026, read 25 Oct 2026
ToBRFV (tomato brown rugose fruit virus)	Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2970, applicable from 1 January 2025, regulates ToBRFV through requirements on tomato and pepper plants for planting, including seed. It replaced Regulation (EU) 2023/1032, which ended on 31 December 2024. Harvested fruit is not the commodity it regulates.	European UnionEU · Adopted 29 Nov 2024; applies from 1 Jan 2025
Pesticide residues	Maximum residue levels under Regulation (EC) 396/2005 apply to each active substance on tomatoes. The EU Pesticides Database shows current values but has no legal force; the Official Journal amendment is binding.	European CommissionEU · Live database, read 23 Oct 2026
Marketing standard	Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429, Annex I Part B Part 10, sets the tomato standard: minimum quality and maturity, classes, sizing, tolerances, presentation and marking. Applicable from 1 January 2025.	European UnionEU · Adopted 17 Aug 2023; applies from 1 Jan 2025
Food safety and traceability	Imported food must comply with Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (safety, traceability) and is subject to risk-based official controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. A phytosanitary certificate is not a food-safety approval.	European CommissionEU · Live guidance page, read 23 Oct 2026
Moroccan plant-health control	ONSSA is the phytosanitary authority (Law 76-17 and Decree 2-22-243 of 21 July 2022) and runs documentary, identity and physical export controls.	ONSSA (Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires)Morocco · Live register, read 23 Oct 2026
Exporter and packhouse registration	EACCE (Morocco Foodex) carries out technical export control and registers exporters and conditioning and storage facilities. It does not issue the plant-health certificate.	EACCE / Morocco FoodexMorocco · Procedure PRO-CTC-001, uploaded April 2022

Recent changes

1 January 2025: the EU ToBRFV framework moved to Regulation (EU) 2024/2970 (plants for planting, including seed).
1 January 2025: the tomato marketing standard now sits in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429, replacing reliance on the old 543/2011 standard.

Not verified — confirm locally

Which option ONSSA states for Keiferia lycopersicella (Annex VII point 69) on current tomato certificates; ask the exporter for a recent certificate's additional declaration. Point 68 is recorded as country freedom.
Any Moroccan tomato-specific export licence, maturity rule, seasonal restriction or quota currently in force.
EU tariff-quota and entry-price arrangements for Moroccan tomatoes are not covered here.

Check the current text with the named authorities and your importer before each season. A dated official page is not proof that no later change exists.

What the production project should procure

SeedMatch procurement advice, not an official requirement. Scope is confirmed with the buyer's agronomist, engineer and importer.

Production-site surveillance and records: If the pest-free place of production route is used, the site needs monitoring, trapping and records that ONSSA can audit. Ask suppliers which structure features (for example insect netting on vents) they include, and keep that separate from any claim about pest status.
Seed and transplant procurement: Seed and young plants are the commodity the ToBRFV rules target. Specify the seed health documents you need from the seed supplier, and check Moroccan seed import rules.
Residue monitoring: The project's crop-protection programme must be planned against EU MRLs for each active substance. Budget for an accredited residue-testing plan.
Packhouse grading and marking: Grading lines, sizing and labelling must be able to sort to the EU tomato classes and print the required marking.
Pre-cooling and cold chain: Size pre-cooling and cold storage for peak daily harvest so fruit holds its quality class through transport.
Traceability: Lot coding from greenhouse block to pallet supports the EU traceability rules and buyer audits.

Ask suppliers to quote the complete system, including lifecycle consumables and service, and to provide certifications and performance data as documents. Yield, savings or market-access figures in a quotation are supplier projections, not guarantees.

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