World Tomato News

In 2022 the global (-4.9%) and European (-17.6%) production declined vs 2021, with Spain and Portugal experiencing a -29% drop overall. The only exception was China, with a recorded 29.2% increase over 2021, producing 6.2m MT of tomatoes.

We'll look at the performance of each individual region: 

• SPAIN: In the last months water availability has improved in Extremadura, while in Andalusia the situation is worse than in 2022. The forecast for 2023 production in Spain is approx. 2.6m MT, up from 2.1m MT in 2022, also due to the increase in the number of cultivated hectares.

• PORTUGAL: Overall, the country has had abundant rainfall and the 2023 harvest is expected to be between 1.40 and 1.45m MT. The stalemate between processors and producers persists as well.

• TURKEY: 2023 production forecast is of 2.35m MT, unchanged compared to 2022. Revenue from tomato product exports produced by the Turkish processing significantly grew compared to 2021. This gain has been driven primarily by increases in both quantity and value in the tomato paste category which has seen foreign sales jump +45% over the past year. In terms of markets, the spectacular increase in Turkish sales of pastes abroad last year can largely be attributed to Iraq. Over the same reference period, Turkish exports of canned tomatoes recorded an increase of +22% in 2022, whereas the results of the sauces sector seem less impressive, while they did, however, increase by +13%.

• CALIFORNIA: California is currently experiencing the effects of yet another atmospheric river, which has led to further delays in transplanting and increased natural gas usage for heaters in the greenhouses to keep the young seedlings warm. However, despite these challenges, implemented plans to expedite transplanting as soon as the weather permits will ensure steady processing volumes of tomatoes well into October. Currently, the combined water storage in both reservoirs and snowpacks is at an impressive +210% of peak amounts. There is enough water to supply the entire California processing tomato crop annual demand and storage gains will offer a strong base to build off into 2024.

For 2023, the World Processing Tomato Council in February shared a global production forecast of 17.5m MT (+5% vs 2022).

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