Over 200 participants attended the first international tomato conference in Anvers, which began on the 13th April and went on for 3 days.
During the commercial session on the first day, visitors could learn about different tomato producing trends in other countries - this session was a great success. Speakers from Belgium, France, Holland, Scandinavia, Spain and Italy presented figures and forecasts on tomato production and commercialisation.
Global tomato production will reach 130 million tons, with China in first place producing 40 million tons. Europe follows with about 16 million tons (Spain and Italy are the biggest tomato producers in Europe). Other countries with high production include the USA, India and Turkey. Holland exports the most tomatoes (931,000 tons outside Europe). Tomato exports from Europe have been under a lot of pressure since the Russian boycott.