The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Environment of the Junta de Extremadura has sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food in which it demands to review and, if appropriate, suspend the active improvement regime (TPA) applied to olive oil imports.
According to the regional government, this customs instrument, which allows the entry of oil from third countries without paying tariffs while remaining under this regime, could be generating "distortions in the market and severely affecting the profitability of Extremaduran and Spanish producers," as stated in a press release.
The Junta requests that the department led by the central government clarify whether extra virgin olive oil can legally be subject to the TPA, given that this product "is not subject to transformation operations that alter its nature, as required by community regulations."
In the same vein, it demands detailed data on the authorizations granted and the operations carried out over the last five years: imported volumes, countries of origin, declared transformations, and quantities re-exported or cleared for free practice, with the aim of "ensuring the transparency and traceability of these practices."
The Extremaduran government emphasizes that the increase in purchases of olive oil under TPA, especially of Tunisian origin, is "exerting downward pressure" on prices at origin, in a scenario where "production costs have increased significantly."
This situation, points out the department headed by Juan José García, reproduces "the same circumstances" that recently led the European Commission to suspend the active improvement regime for cane sugar, considering that it caused "disturbances in the community market."
For this reason, the Junta asks the ministry to raise with the European Commission the request for "total or partial suspension" of the TPA for olive oil, to review the operations already authorized, and to disseminate comprehensive information on the imports made under this system.
The ultimate goal is to "reinforce transparency, avoid practices that may alter the market, and adequately protect Extremaduran producers, whose activity is threatened by the increasing entry of imported extra virgin olive oil without tariffs."