W18: Tomato Update

In W18 in the tomato landscape, it was reported that Russia has increased the import quota of Turkish tomatoes from 350KT to 500KT. Aleksey Sitnikov, head of the industry association "Greenhouses of Russia", said the increase has blocked the development of greenhouse vegetables in the country. He suggested applying to the Ministry of Agriculture to request a revision in the tomato cultivation and import volume. Ghana's tomato prices have risen due to difficulties in importing from Burkina Faso, which has left retailers struggling to meet demand. Further, Ghana relies heavily on imports to meet its demand for tomatoes, but recent disruptions to the supply chain from Burkina Faso have left retailers struggling to keep up with demand. In Nigeria, the HortiNigeria has collaborated with NABG and stakeholders to find a solution to the threat of Tuta Absoluta, a pest that has caused massive losses in Nigeria in 2023. The recurrence of Tuta absoluta has exposed the inability of the Nigerian government to tackle food security threats, leading to an estimated USD 2.8M (NGN 1.3B) loss and a 363% increase in fresh tomato prices.

Moroccan tomatoes have a strong hold on the British market, displacing Spanish and Dutch tomatoes in 2021 and 2022 respectively. According to a report by Hortoinfo, the UK imported 388.98M kg of tomatoes in 2022, at a value of USD 743.4M (EUR 677.35M), at an average price of USD 1.91/kg (EUR 1.74/kg). Also, the tomato contact group will meet next week in Piré-Chancé near Rennes, France to assess the 2022/23 winter campaign and analyze the prospects of the summer campaign. They will also analyze external competition in EU markets on May 5, 2023. The first wholesale batches of greenhouse tomatoes from local plants arrived on the Ukrainian market in W18, but will not be able to ship until the beginning of May 2023 due to the warm weather that settled in Ukraine in W17. The European Commission has proposed to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Moldova's exports to the EU for another year, extending it to all remaining tariffs and tariff quotas for Moldovan imports.

The World Processing Tomato Council (WPTC) crop update shows no significant change in the volumes expected for 2023 due to the southern hemisphere harvest finishing and planting progressing in the northern hemisphere. In Hungary, the forecast is for 100KT of processing tomatoes to be planted, with direct sowing and transplanting starting in W18. Warmer weather is expected from the weekend. In Italy, transplanting started in W1 of April 2023, but some fields were damaged by frost, rains, storms, or hail. There is still no price agreement, but negotiations will resume in the coming days. In the South, transplanting is delayed and harvest may be delayed. Processors are offering USD 153.73 (EUR 140) for round tomatoes and USD 159.22 (EUR 145) for long ones, but farmers are waiting for the price in the north to be set before finalising contracts. In Ukraine, 8Kha of tomatoes should be planted for the 2023 growing season, with a processing output of 600KT anticipated, of which 500KT will come from Inagro. On the otherhand, Australia processed 55.7KT of tomatoes as of April 2023, but the full-year projection of 92.3KT is lower due to rain and insufficient time for crops to finish.