We are approaching the peak of the Sicilian table tomato campaign – which represents the 40% of the national production. The production areas are on the coasts between Agrigento and Siracusa, involving Caltanissetta and especially Ragusa – which represents the core, both in terms of extent and quantity.
We contacted the agribusiness expert Massimo Pavan to better understand the production and the market trends. Pavan was vice-president of the Consorzio Tutela del Pomodoro di Pachino IGP (Consortium for the protection of the tomatoes from Pachino PGI) for 6 years. Now, he is a member of the Board and the Table Tomato O.I. coordinator. Additionally, he is the vice-president of the Consorzio della Tutela della Carota Novella di Ispica IGP (Consortium for the protection of the Novella di Ispica Carrot PGI).
Costs and Production
Pavan said, “We should start our analysis from the production problems. The increasing costs are making the production more and more difficult. On one hand, the materials to set up cultivations have become more expensive. On the other hand, the unpredictability of the climate and increasingly aggressive plant diseases raise the production costs.
The manager continues, “Unfortunately, this effort is not matched by the revenue. This is because the markets are not obliged to consider the increasing difficulties in the production. After all, a product like the cherry tomato – which once was considered a premium product – is now sold for 1.50 euros per 500g baskets in Gdos. There are a few niche products that are more expensive than that, but they are exceptions. The producers are greatly affected by this negative trend, and I do not know how to save us. This is a general overview of the Sicilian tomato.”
“Again, the climate caused the biggest problems in Sicily. There was an unprecedented heat wave in September that resulted in an increasing number of plant diseases, to the point that some of us had to re-plant. Therefore, the costs increased. Other European areas are not affected by this type of climate which makes difficult to manage the production.
Price analysis
The expert clarified, “Currently, the prices are good only because there is not much product. Thus, the analysis should be done by taking into consideration the annual average – from the beginning to the end of the season. Therefore, we will only know if the producers lost money in July 2019. It does not make any sense to make an analysis of the current price of 1.60 euros per kilo (on average), because we could experience a lower price in the near future. However, the current trend shows that the production prices will be quite high.
He continues, “Obviously, we should invest in quality with more accurate agronomic measures, while at the same time being aware that the consumer does not know what is behind a basket of tomatoes: the effort, the risks, the food safety, how much the producer spent to cultivate one kilo of product and so forth. The consumers first take into consideration the price, then the aesthetic appeal of the product – and recently they have started looking at the place of origin, also. This bodes well for the future of the production.”
Pavan concludes, “We would need more commercial equity. A product price cannot be lower than the production costs. Producers should have those costs covered, thus allowing them to keep working decently. In doing so, there will be a higher socio-economic benefit for an aware agriculture.