“Purchases of tomatoes per household decreased by nearly 7%”

In 2017, the French tomato market experienced a dynamic spring followed by a dull summer, which reveals a consumption in full evolution. Despite the decline in domestic production and imports, the 2017 tomato season was only average in terms of prices. After a favourable start to the season, the abundant supply of other fruits and vegetables (melons in particular), and the harvest from allotment gardens in the summer, have in fact competed with the sales of tomatoes. This disappointing record also reflects the change in purchasing behaviour, abandoning (round) varieties for "mass consumption" for the benefit of the well appreciated "tasty" varieties, which are being planted right now. In 2017, the gap widened between these two segments. 

At the national level, the harvest is estimated to have decreased by 9%, as a result of the production drop in western France (-22%); the primary production basin. The Southeast retains its ranking in second place with a stable tonnage. In third place, the Midwest maintains its surfaces but yields fell by 6%. In fourth place, the South-West continues its momentum, with a rise of 6% in 2017. In this basin, the increase reached 28% over five years, which means it was the only one progressing over this period, including new, high-performance, state-of-the-art production units.

 

Over the whole of the season, imported tonnages have been at their lowest in five years (-6% compared to the five year average). The contribution of Spain to this is down by 13%, compared to last year, and that of other countries by 16%.The situation in the French market this year seemed much less defined by the pressure of imports, especially during the spring.

 

Over the 2017 season, the amount of purchases of tomatoes per household, from January to October, decreased by nearly 7% compared to 2016, and the average of the last five years (source: FranceAgriMer, according to Kantar Worldpanel). This decrease is noticeable over the entire period, with the exception of mid-May to mid-July. According to market observers, this is the result of a shift in consumption of other species, such as melon and cucumber, during the summer, which are strongly represented this year, or because of alternative sources of supply, such as short circuits and allotment gardens. According to industry professionals, melons, the foremost competitor of tomatoes on the shelves, with abundant supply and low prices throughout the summer, has undoubtedly impacted tomato consumption.

As for allotment gardens; they are systematically assigned to the participants in the sector, acting as the main competitors to the flow of professional tomato production throughout the summer, until September; even though the summer of 2017 was the second warmest since 1900 (source: Météo-France), temperatures are favourable for the regular consumption of tomatoes. the season was disappointing: with a declining domestic production, and Belgian and Dutch competitors are particularly absent from the markets this year. - This hypothesis is derived from the insufficient flow of production in July and August.

Three episodes of crises particularly stand out this year: July 5th to 11th, August 2nd to 4th, and September 12th to 18th. The total number of crisis days is 14 days in 2017 (15 in 2016).

Supply is halved in the West, and down to 33% in the Southwest. These two basins are the last remaining areas in the countryside. Prices go back up rationally, and reach the five-year average for cluster tomatoes, and exceed the average for cherry tomatoes. The market is finally stable, but this still doesn’t make for much change in the season's records, considering how bad certain segments were.