Data analysts Mintec report that, according to the European Commission’s short term agricultural outlook, EU tomato production is forecast to decline in 2022, down 9% year-on-year to 16.5m tonnes. Processing tomato production is forecast down 14% year-on-year, to 10.1m tonnes.
Prolonged periods of dry weather in top producing countries including Italy and Spain, are said to have been responsible for the decline in production, with growers also facing irrigation challenges due to water shortages, particularly in Northern Italy, which has further driven the decline in production estimates according to Mintec.
Rising costs of fuel and fertilisers also prompted many farmers to review their financial strategies in 2022, with some reportedly offsetting the impact by buying less fertiliser than usual or reducing the area being planted.
Greenhouses are a key element in tomato production across the EU. As natural gas, electricity and diesel are key inputs to keep them running, specifically for heating, maintenance and watering systems, rising energy prices are having a large effect on production. The substantial pressure of rising costs has resulted in many vegetable producers being forced to cease production, leading to the lower availability of supplies in 2022. As of 7 September, the price of Spanish round tomatoes was up 29.4% week-on-week and up 30.0% year-on-year at €1.3/kg.
A recent report by the Financial Times, warned, ‘In the Netherlands, which accounts for almost a fifth of world tomato exports, many glasshouses are going dark. Companies that normally use lighting to help grow tomatoes “will most likely not do so in the coming winter due to the high electricity price,” said Alexander Formsma, energy specialist at Glastuinbouw Nederland.
‘Alfred Pedersen & Son, the largest tomato supplier in Sweden and Denmark, which operates 350,000 square metres of greenhouses, said it was also switching off this winter. It supplies supermarkets with 20,000 tonnes of tomatoes a year, of which about a quarter is produced in the winter.’