The tomato season is at its turning point - the bunch tomato season is ending, making room for the more summery salad varieties.
"People usually demand a lot of red bunch, cherry and date tomatoes from autumn until spring, but now the season is extending and people tend to eat them also during summer months."
Prices are average, as one kg of bunch tomatoes from Sicily is sold at a wholesale price of €0.75, but they are expected to drop. Competition from Holland must also be considered: "their produce is on the market throughout the whole year. Their quality is better, their tomatoes look better and have a longer shelf-life, so they are sold at €0.10-0.15 more per kilo."
As regards bunch tomatoes, "Spanish produce only appears if there's a gap, which does not happen very often. This happens because their quality is not as good, so the produce is sent mainly to France and Germany."
Other big tomato producers in the Mediterranean area are Morocco and Turkey, though their produce rarely reaches Italy. "Turkey produces small tomatoes, but Italians prefer bigger ones. Tomatoes from Morocco are good but it is easier for them to reach Spain and France."
"Cherry tomatoes usually don't do so bad, as people tend to prefer them even though date tomatoes have a better taste. This is mainly due to the price, as the difference can reach up to €1 per kilo. At the moment, the wholesale price for cherry tomatoes is €1.10-1.20/kg whereas that of date tomatoes is €2-2.10/kg."
As regards the more summery varieties. "San Marano and long tomatoes come mainly from Campania in June and July, the ones from the Veneto area arrive in July-September. The main competitor is France but Italians actually tend to prefer the domestic produce, as the quality is excellent." At the moment, the wholesale price of salad tomatoes is €0.70-0.80 per kg."
But how is Italy doing abroad? "We do export but, except for cherry tomatoes, things are quite hard. There is some demand for date tomatoes, but only from niche markets. There is not a chance to export bunch tomatoes because of competition from Spain and the Netherlands - the former focus on the low prices and the latter on the particularly long shelf-life of their produce."
Contacts:
Eurofrut S.p.A.
Sede: Centro Agro Alimentare CAAB
Via P. Canali - 40127 Bologna - Italia
Tel.: +39 051 286 1326
Fax: +39 051 286 1405
Email: sede@eurofrut.it