The Global Market: Evolution and Value
Whether we consider global trade statistics for canned tomatoes (HS codes 200210) from the perspective of processing and exporting countries or that of importing and consuming countries, the recent dynamics of the sector have revealed in recent years – in fact, coinciding with the development of the Covid pandemic – some signs of decline or uncertainty. Given the average annual growth rate (CAGR, 3.6%) observed over the period 2000–2020, it can indeed be estimated that the overall trade activity recorded in 2024 in this sector (1.972 million metric tonnes (t)) was some 200,000 to 250,000 t lower than it could have been if growth had remained unchanged over recent years; whatever the reasons, global trade in canned tomatoes has been very erratic in recent years and, despite a significant increase in 2024, the quantities traded last year remained below the record set in 2022 of 1.985 million t of finished products.
The total value of global exports of canned tomatoes (see additional information at the end of the article) has grown rapidly in recent years; it reached €2.43 billion last year, up 21% (€419 million) compared to the average of the previous three years.
This increase in overall expenditure on canned tomato supplies was faster than that in quantities, as illustrated by the change in the (indicative) unit export value of a tonne of canned tomatoes (see additional information at the end of the article): confined for two decades to a price range between €750 and €1,000 per tonne (Trade Data Monitor data), the value of products exported in this sector jumped to record levels of €1,250/t in 2023 and 2024.
Main regional markets
In the 2024 calendar year, the cumulative import quantities amounted to 1.71 million tonnes of products. For various geographical and economic reasons, and related to agricultural and industrial know-how, Europe in the broadest sense of the term constitutes by far the main consumer base for canned tomatoes, sold in peeled and unpeeled forms, whole or partially whole (cubed, sliced, etc.).
For a long time, and with 326,600 tonnes of finished products imported in 2024, the United Kingdom has been the world's leading market for the canned tomato sector; the quantities purchased last year remained virtually unchanged from the average of the previous three years (329,000 tonnes) and alone represented more than 19% of the global market in volume and 18% in value: the British supply bill for canned tomatoes in 2024 amounted to more than €380 million (USD 410 million), up 22% compared to the average of the previous three years (€313 million).
The second largest market in the world for canned tomatoes is Germany; German purchases in this sector, significantly lower than those of the United Kingdom, amounted to nearly 250,000 tonnes of finished products last year, slightly down from the average of the previous three years (256,000 tonnes), and accounted for just under 15% of the quantities mobilized worldwide. The value of German imports in 2024 amounted to €311 million (USD 337 million), a 22% increase, like that of the United Kingdom, compared to the average of the previous three years (€255 million).
With annual imports generally half those of Germany and purchases amounting to 124,000 tonnes of finished products in 2024, France has consistently ranked third in the world among importing countries of canned tomatoes: last year's supplies showed a slight decline (-3%) after three more active years (128,000 tonnes) and nevertheless represented just over 7% of total global imports. French expenditure on canned tomatoes of foreign origin last year amounted to approximately €161 million (USD 174 million), also up 22% compared to the expenditure recorded over the previous three years (€132 million).
The quantities of canned tomatoes imported by Japan place the country fourth in the world in this sector: in 2024, Japan imported more than 99,000 tonnes of finished products, 3% more than in the previous three years, thus accounting for just under 6% of the quantities traded globally. The value of Japanese imports of canned tomatoes last year amounted to €125 million (USD 135 million), a 22% increase, as for the previous countries, compared to the average of the previous three years (€130 million).
The three major regions mentioned (non-EU Europe, Western EU, and the Far East) alone accounted for three-quarters of total global foreign purchases in 2024, as in the last five and ten years combined.
Joining the United Kingdom are, to name just a few, Switzerland (ranked 19th in the world) and Norway (ranked 26th), which imported 21,700 tonnes (€36 million) and 12,100 tonnes of canned tomatoes (€18 million) respectively last year. The total value of canned tomato imports from the "Europe outside the EU" region in 2024 amounted to €447 million (USD 487 million).
In addition to Germany and France, the EU has many canned tomato-consuming countries, such as the Netherlands (71,200 tonnes in 2024), Austria (63,000 tonnes), Belgium (59,000 tonnes), Sweden (48,000 tonnes), Poland (38,000 tonnes), Denmark (26,000 tonnes), Ireland, Finland, and others. Last year, the 27 EU member states spent more than €1.08 billion on their canned tomato supplies.
In the Far East, Japan's leadership was accompanied by significant imports to South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.
Among the other notable importing countries of canned tomatoes, sometimes further removed from the major production centers of this sector, it is worth mentioning Canada and Australia, which are expected to import 67,000 tonnes and 64,000 tonnes of finished products respectively in 2024, as well as the United States (57,000 tonnes), Saudi Arabia (25,000 tonnes), Russia, Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. : in 2024, the fifteen main import markets drained more than 1.33 million tonnes of products and 78% of global canned food trade; the remaining 22% (380,000 tonnes of products) supplied more than one hundred different countries.
Some complementary data
Evolution of the value of global exports of canned tomatoes, in USD million
Evolution of the indicative value of the global average price per ton of canned tomatoes
Relative importance of different processing and exporting countries in the supplies of consuming regions
The second part of this report, devoted to the main exporting countries, will be published very soon.
Source: TDM
