In its latest update (18th August), the World Processing Tomato Council provided insights into the current state of the processing tomato crop for Amitom countries (organisations of tomato processors in the Mediterranean region), showing that the season has peaked, with most Amitom countries and processing facilities operating at full capacity.
Processing tomato-producing countries within the EU have reportedly had favourable quality for the harvested crop so far. In the northern regions of Italy, processing factories are running at full capacity, and the harvested volume thus far has been satisfactory. The quality is back to normal after some fields had been affected by hail. In southern Italy, factories are also operating at full capacity, and despite early tomatoes yielding less, overall quantities have been reported as adequate. The current harvest is behind last year's timeline by one week in the south. The anticipated total production for Italy remains at 5.6 million tonnes.
In Spain, the harvest is progressing well, with over 40% of the surface area in Extremadura, the largest processing tomato region in Spain, already harvested. The hot weather continues to speed up crop maturation, but there are concerns about potential quality degradation and development issues for late tomatoes. The harvest has also commenced in the northern regions of Spain, and the projected processing tomato production for Spain remains at 2.6 million tonnes.
Despite recent high temperatures, Portugal's harvest is progressing well, and there have been no alterations to the forecasted production of 1.5 million tonnes. In Greece, the harvest is approximately 45% completed, with good fruit quality and an estimated production of 430,000 tonnes for the year. In France, approximately 40,000 tonnes of tomatoes have been delivered to processors, constituting around 25% of the projected total production of 150,000 tonnes.
