On September 4, 2024, members of the Industrial Tomato Production Organization of Northern Italy (OI Pomodoro da Industria Nord Italia) met with Alessio Mammi, an agricultural councilor from the Emilia Romagna region. The meeting was held at OI headquarters in Parma, where both parties conducted a preliminary assessment of the progress of the 2024 tomato season.

Data and Prospects for the 2024 Tomato Season

The tomato harvest season in northern Italy is underway, but there are some difficulties that have already emerged since the beginning of spring transplanting. In May, farmers experienced continuous rainfall, and many transplanting work was postponed until June, so the harvest season will continue until September. The strong meteorological instability in June puts seedlings at risk of disease. Subsequently, the high temperatures in mid July and August hindered the growth of tomatoes.

As of September 4th, only about 50% of the contracted tomatoes have been harvested, which is lower than the average level of the same period in the past five years. The data from the producer organization shows that the average yield of tomatoes is 60 tons per hectare, while the average yield of the organization in the past five years was 74 tons per hectare.

The lower than expected tomato harvest indicates a possible shortage of contracted quantity at the end of the season. However, the quality of tomatoes is very high, with a Brix value of 5.12, which is an unprecedented record level in northern Italy.

In this situation, farmers have to invest high costs in the fields to prevent diseases, but the yield is still low, leading to a decrease in farmers' income. At the same time, the decrease in the number of tomatoes entering the processing plant has made it difficult for the enterprise to operate at full capacity, resulting in reduced production efficiency and increased costs.

It is expected that there will still be a large number of areas in need of harvesting in September, but there is significant uncertainty in the production results. If the weather remains stable, the harvesting work can continue; But if the weather is unfavorable, the ripening and harvesting of tomatoes may be affected, leading to further yield shortages.

Chairman Tiberio Laboni's opinion

The 2024 tomato season was affected by two key issues: rainfall and the lack of regional framework agreements. Rainfall brought high costs and low yields, resulting in an imbalance between the costs and income of agricultural producers; at the same time, it also increased the industrial costs of processing enterprises. This situation occurred during a period of oversupply of tomato products in the international market, and prices may fall, "said Tiberio Rabboni, President of the Northern Italian Industrial Tomato Production Organization. Although there is no regional framework agreement, OI's sharing rules still enable the supply chain to obtain all necessary information to respond to this harvest season in an orderly manner. However, I believe that after the harvest season ends, both parties should immediately engage in dialogue to reach a regional framework agreement for 2025 as soon as possible.

In this context, considering the persistent adverse weather conditions in recent years, insurance mechanisms need to adopt different approaches. Timely recording of weather events reported by producer organizations (POS) and declaring a state of emergency would be beneficial. In addition, to enhance the competitiveness of our industry in the international market, adjustments need to be made to the linked subsidies for industrial tomato producers.

Speech by Congressman Alessio Mami

The tomato supply chain is going through a difficult year, but as a region, we hope to help the industry develop more steadily in the future, "said Alessio Mammi, Director of the Agriculture Department of Emilia Romagna Region. To this end, I confirm that we will implement a strategy to provide a development prospect for this indispensable supply chain by setting up tenders and funding support for both agriculture and industry. In addition, we will promote policies to support the supply chain and suggest increasing tomato linkage subsidies. We also plan multiple projects to increase the reservoir water storage capacity in the region. However, we must strive to enhance the uniqueness of our tomatoes and their products, which are delicious, safe, and meet social and environmental sustainability requirements. The unity of the supply chain is crucial to its credibility, and it is important to start working on the 2025 regional framework agreement immediately after the harvest season ends.

From Xinjiang Tomato