According to COAG AlmerÃa, the area of tomatoes in Almeria next season could increase by up to 1,000 hectares over the 2021/2022 campaign, reaching 9,500 hectares.
This recovery in the area devoted to tomatoes is mainly due to the good prices achieved by farmers last season and the expected lower competition from Central European products due to the increase in energy prices. The recovery of the land that tomatoes had lost in the province in recent years could be produced at the expense of other crops, such as zucchini.
"This year, we have noticed that a large number of farmers in Almeria who did not opt for tomatoes in previous campaigns have decided opted for this production again. It's regaining lost ground. We won't know the exact increase in the area until later, but we do know approximately how this crop will move in this 2022-2023 campaign," stated the provincial secretary of the agrarian organization, Andres Gongora. "We are aware of the increase in crops, especially of branch tomatoes and pear tomatoes, which are the most in-demand for export."
"In winter, our European competitors are in Central Europe, and they produce tomatoes on their farms using energy to heat their high-tech greenhouses. Energy prices have risen so much that its cultivation is no longer profitable. However, in Almeria, we have good temperatures, and we do not need that extra energy expenditure. We have the sun," he said.
Even though it is still too early to venture to give specific figures for the next campaign, COAG affirms there is a lot of demand for tomatoes as winter is coming. We already know that the Netherlands, for example, will have less production."
Morocco is another great competitor for Almeria's tomato. This country has become a great exporter of this crop to the EU in recent years, but in the last campaign, its tomato exports to Europe fell by 4%, and now we have detected that its focusing its sales on the United Kingdom, especially after this country left the EU, stated the general secretary of COAG.
Source: diariodealmeria.es