Conservas
Jun. 4, 2013Tomates/Italia: producción podría ser considerablemente menor que en la temporada 2012
REMAINING tomato stocks in Italy are expected to be cleared between the summer months and October-November, as the country is getting ready for a tomato crop that may be significantly lower this year than in 2012. At the same time, overall tomato production in the EU has been decreasing in recent years, as competition from other areas and costs are taking their toll on Europe’s processing industry.
Several factors concurred in pushing European tomato production down, Marco Serafini, chief executive of Italian company Desco Spa, explained at the recent Tomato Forum conference in Rome. Raw material prices have increased after the decoupling of European subsidies devoted to tomato growing, as FOODNEWS assessed recently (FOODNEWS 20 May). This resulted in a loss of competitiveness in those segments where the raw material price has a higher incidence – that is to say, semi-finished products, or tomato paste.