Press release
, Sophie Colvine
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The 2022 tomato processing season in Northern Italy is finished: good production, above average yields per hectare and high quality
The President of the OI Pomodoro Nord Italia, Tiberio Rabboni: "The 2022 campaign has substantially achieved the objectives set in the spring and this despite the drought and increases in production costs"
The campaign of harvesting and processing of tomato from industry in Northern Italy ended on Monday, October 3. The cultivated areas amounted to 37,024 hectares. Of these, 11% were with organic production techniques while the remaining 89% were observing the regional disciplinary of integrated production.
Factories processed 2,890,000 tonnes of raw material. The campaign was held regularly except for the week of 15 to 21 August, which saw a slowdown and the cessation of processing, due to the intense rains that affected the entire territory.
The timing of transplanting managed by the Producer Organizations, who were able to distribute the production over a wide period, which started the harvest on July 14, was fundamental and enabled consistent daily deliveries until September 25, and ending definitively on October 3 with the later plots.
The drought, which marked the summer of 2022, severely threatened production, but thanks to the commitment of farmers in the rationalization and prudence in the use of water and the emergency management initiatives of the Reclamation Consortia and the regional and national institutions in charge, as well as the help of some summer rain, the damage has been minimized.
Yields were above average, recording a total yield of 77.9 t/ha, higher than the five-year average of 73.1 t/ha, and confirming a general trend of improvement in multiannual yields. In detail, the tomato with integrated production had a yield of 79.44 t/ha compared to a five-year average of 74.0 t/ha while the organic one a yield of 65.2 t /ha compared to the five-year average of 63.1 t/ha.
Few pathologies were also found, allowing a production of good quality, characterized by a brix grade of 4.84, also slightly higher, a deviation of 4.66%, a better value than the historical average and a good result in colour.
All these factors made it possible to achieve the objectives that the agricultural and industrial part had set themselves, arriving with deliveries about 94% of the raw material contracted in the spring.
The establishment of a reference price in the spring, agreed between the parties, which then varies according to the quality of the tomato delivered, and the fact that it was kept in balance throughout the harvest period due to the seriousness of both sides, allowed this campaign to be tackled, It is characterized by productive factors with very unstable prices and in general high, in a condition of stability and relative tranquillity, allowing to work according to what is actually estimated.
The campaign has in fact seen a sharp increase in energy costs, both from an agricultural and industrial point of view, and there is still concern for the future on this issue.
The President of the OI, Tiberius Rabboni, commented: "The data speak for themselves. The 2022 campaign basically achieved the objectives set in the spring, despite the drought and the increases in production costs. The planning of areas has worked, as has the new OI service of forecasting weekly deliveries based on transplantation dates and, crucially, the teamwork between farmers has also worked, remediation consortia and institutions to minimize the impact of drought. It is now essential to carry out all the measures decided, planned, and financed by the PNRR, national and regional funds to increase irrigation availability and water collection. Only in this way can quality Italian agriculture live with climate change".
Source: OI Pomodoro Nord Italia
