PTAB and CLFP final reports for the 2022 season
The latest PTAB and CLFP data puts the final 2022 California crop year at 9,514,007 mT (10,487,397 sT), down sharply (-14%) from initial January intentions (11 million mT). The quantities processed are also 3% lower than the previous season and 6% lower than the average of the last five seasons (period running 2017-2021).
The total number of loads delivered to Californian factories during the 2022 crop year amounted to 418,842, which is 11,108 fewer loads than in 2021.
According to data collected by the PTAB, the top five processing tomato producing counties in 2022 were:
Fresno: 91,244 loads, 22% of the quantities delivered statewide in California, 52% of the quantities delivered from the southern area; Yolo: 62,522 loads, 15% of the quantities delivered statewide, 47% of the quantities delivered from the northern area;
Kings: 60,106 loads, 14% of the quantities delivered statewide, 34% of the quantities delivered from the southern area;
Merced: 43,646 loads, 10% of quantities delivered statewide, 41% of quantities delivered from the central region;
San Joaquin: 31,755 loads, 8% of quantities delivered statewide, 30% of quantities delivered from the central region.
Three regions shared most of processing tomato crop. In 2022, their respective contributions to the delivered total throughout California (nearly 419,000 factory-delivered loads) were in sharp contrast:
42% came from the southern region, or 176,107 loads;
32% came from the northern region, or 131,925 loads;
25% came from the central region, or 105,453 loads;
1.3% came from the coastal region, or 5,357 loads.
A number of seed companies are involved in the processing tomato seed market in California. Seminis and Harris Moran supplied more than half of the seed used this past season:
SVS (SEMINIS) : 116,770 loads ;
HM (HARRIS MORAN) : 111,002 loads ;
HZ (HEINZ) : 69,307 loads ;
NS (NUNHEMS) : 53,686 loads ;
SYN (SYNGENTA) : 26,741 loads ;
BHN (BHN Seeds) : 17,444 loads ;
BOS (ORSETTI) : 13,852 loads ;
UG (UNITED GENETICS): 7,427 loads ;
Other suppliers: 2,613 loads.
The data collected shows that the five most widely grown varieties accounted for 31% of deliveries (131,768 loads); the ten most widely used varieties accounted for 45% of deliveries, i.e. 189,889 loads delivered to processing plants.
The ten most popular varieties were:
58841, HM, with 33,686 loads;
6428, N, with 29,137 loads;
9013, SVTM with 23,680 loads;
5522, HM 61P, with 22,895 loads;
9016, SVTM, with 22,370 loads;
1662, HZ, with 15,928 loads;
0811, BOS, with 11,398 loads;
5608, HZ, with 10,702 loads;
1082, SVTM, with 10,382 loads;
and 1996, HZ, with 9,711 loads.
The average soluble solids content of all loads delivered in 2022 was 5.25°, very comparable to what was recorded over the previous season as a whole (5.23°). The results differ greatly from county to county.
"Organic" tomatoes accounted for 4.84% of total processed volumes in 2022, compared to 6.3% last year and 4.7% in 2020. The quantity of 542,400 mT processed this year is 11% lower than in 2021 (almost 607,000 mT) but 12% higher than the average level of the "organic" crop over the last three seasons (533,000 mT).
Some complementary data
CLFP California Tomato Tonnage Final Report: click here
2022 was one of the shortest crop seasons of the last nineteen years.
The comments published on November 9, 2022, by MorningStar (Aaron Giampietro) are accessible here. In this post-season video, colleague Aaron Giampietro is back to discuss final expected tonnage and provide context to understand these results and offer a few insights to watch as we head toward the 2023 crop cycle.
Sources: PTAB, CLFP, MorningStar
