Main Processing and Exporting Countries
Given the declarative nature of the information collected from customs authorities in the countries concerned, it is not surprising that the quantities recorded for export differ significantly from those recorded for imports. Last year, global exports amounted to 1.97 million tonnes of finished products, up 6% compared to the 2023 figure (1.856 million tonnes) and 4% (+83,100 tonnes) compared to the average annual performance of the previous three years. Supplying this market is extremely polarized, centered around three main sectors that alone account for approximately 85% of global trade. Italy is by far the world leader, with over 75% of the quantities mobilized, and has experienced irregular activity in recent years. Its immediate challenger, Spain, has annual activity approximately ten times lower, a 7% share of the global market, and a dynamic that is struggling to increase its volumes to compete with Italian activity. The United States ranks third, with just over 4% of global trade and relatively steady volume growth over the past two decades. More modest quantities are generated by Greece, Portugal, and Turkey, which complete the leading group of global canned tomato suppliers.
Italy: Undisputed Mastery of the Sector
The world leader in the canned tomato sector exported just over 1.46 million tonnes of finished products last year, a quantity up 5% on the performance achieved in 2023 and 2% compared to the average of the previous three years. As a result of the spectacular rise in the price of tomato products in recent years, the value of Italian canned tomato exports increased by 19% compared to the average level of the previous three years, reaching Euros 1.66 billion last year (see additional information at the end of the article).
The Western EU is the main market for Italian canned tomatoes: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium, to name only the most important, thus contributed in 2024 to 454,000 tonnes of a regional import total of 556,000 tonnes of finished products; outside the EU, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent Switzerland were among the leading customer countries for the Italian canned tomatoes sector last year, for a regional total (non-EU Europe) of nearly 279,000 tonnes. North American countries also imported significant quantities of Italian canned tomatoes: 173,000 tonnes crossed the Atlantic in 2024 to the USA (149,000 tonnes) and Canada (24,000 tonnes). With purchases of 97,000 and 16,000 tonnes respectively last year, Japan and South Korea complete this group of major markets, which together account for approximately 80% of Italy's canned goods exported. The Australia-New Zealand and Eastern EU regions (Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, etc.) were virtually equal in 2024, with purchases of around 80,000 tonnes each of Italian canned tomatoes.
The irregular results of the last five years make it difficult to identify any dynamics in Italian canned goods exports; however, it should be noted that, with the exception of quantities destined for the EU (Western and Eastern), sales of Italian canned goods to other regions have all, to varying degrees, shown increases compared to the previous three years.
Spain: The Perpetual Challenger
Hampered by the same dynamics that have disrupted Italian foreign sales in recent years, Spanish exports of canned tomatoes are struggling to increase their volume: while they were 6% higher (7,300 t) than in 2023, the quantities exported in 2024 (133,300 t) deviated only 0.4% from the average annual performance of the previous nine years (133,800 t) and increased only 2.5% (3,200 t) compared to the average of the last three years.
Due to the disconnect between product volumes and prices, the uncertainty surrounding quantity dynamics did not affect the evolution of annual turnover: in a global context of rising prices for the raw material "tomato," Spanish export turnover of canned tomatoes amounted to nearly Euros 112 million last year, a slight decrease compared to the 2023 result but a remarkable increase (+23%) compared to the average figure for the previous three years (Euros 91 million) (see additional information at the end of the article).
Compared to the previous three years (2021-2023), Spanish export sales of canned tomatoes in 2024, unlike Italy's results, had an excellent year in Western EU markets, particularly in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Austria, etc. Over the same period, however, aside from some occasional improvements in the Far and Middle Eastern markets, Spanish products recorded a series of fairly significant declines in the United Kingdom, as well as in Poland, France, the Netherlands, and, more broadly, in almost all customer regions.
USA: A Captive Market Driving Growth
Unlike Italian and Spanish export sales, which have been stagnating since the beginning of the decade, US exports of canned goods continued their almost steady growth after 2020, a trend that dates back at least to the early 1990s (see additional information at the end of the article). As far as can be judged, the destination markets in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, etc.), supplied largely by Italy and Spain, have not significantly increased their purchases in recent years; conversely, for much smaller volumes and more likely to be developed, the nearby and virtually captive markets of Canada, Mexico, and to a lesser extent, Japan, Costa Rica, and South Korea have increased their imports of US canned tomatoes almost linearly. These few countries alone account for more than 98% of US external sales.
On a much narrower commercial basis than that of the major European players, US operators have thus seen their export activity, supported by growing imports from Mexico, increase from 58,000 t in 2016 to more than 86,000 t in 2024; last year's results remain fairly close to those of 2023 but show an increase of more than 6% compared to the average of the previous three years.
Another specific feature of US activity compared to that of European countries is that the total value of exported products has grown less rapidly than volumes: over the past ten years, the average indicative price of products (canned tomatoes) exported by the United States has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.3% per year; at the same time, quantities have increased at a rate of 2.2% per year. In the case of European products, and over the same period, the Italian and Spanish indicative prices increased at a rate of 4.4% and 4.5% respectively, while the corresponding volumes increased by 2.1% per year in Italy and decreased at an annual rate of -1.9% in Spain (see additional information at the end of the article).
As a result of this moderate growth, the total value of canned tomatoes exported by US operators reached USD 78.2 million in 2024, up 2% from 2023 and 12% from the average of the previous three years.
Greece: A Narrow Trade Sphere
The observations regarding the annual growth rates of Italy and Spain are also applicable here, even if the quantities mobilized are significantly more modest. In 2024, faced with rebounds in external activity from directly competing sectors, Greece exported just over 48,000 tonnes of finished products, a decline for the second consecutive year, 12% lower than the 2023 performance and the average result of the previous three years. Despite this decline in quantities, the total value of Greek canned tomato exports has grown significantly in recent years, reaching nearly Euros 45 million last year, a result 16% higher than the average for the previous three years (2021-2023, Euros 38 million).
Greek exports of canned tomatoes are almost exclusively directed towards Europe in the broader sense, with more than half of the volumes destined for the United Kingdom, a large third for the Belgium-Sweden-Germany region, and some 8% for the Eastern EU countries.
Turkey: Growing Exports
Confined since the mid-2010s to a level of external activity of around 15,000 tonnes, the Turkish industry has significantly increased its exports of canned tomatoes over the past five years. Although relatively remote compared to the destinations served, Turkey has significantly increased its deliveries to Germany and Italy and, very irregularly, to France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, etc. Significant annual variations have also marked flows to the United Kingdom, while quantities delivered to Russia have increased significantly in recent years.
Exported quantities have thus increased from 17,500 tonnes in 2020 to nearly 37,000 tonnes in 2024, with revenue increasing over the same period from less than USD 31 million to nearly USD 76 million last year.
The quantities of canned tomatoes mobilized in Turkish foreign sales are smaller than those handled by Greece, but their geographical distribution is broader: in addition to the European countries already mentioned, the Turkish industry also exports 7% of its products to the Far East, 5% to North America, 4% to Australia-New Zealand, and 3% to the Middle East.
Portugal: A Tough Competition
Portugal has long held the fifth-largest global exporting country for canned tomatoes, a position that was overtaken by Turkey in 2024. As with Greece, the quantitative results of the last two years have fallen significantly behind previous years: with just over 34,000 tonnes exported, the 2024 result was 4% lower than that of 2023 (nearly 36,000 tonnes) and 18% lower than the average level of activity for the previous three years (41,800 tonnes).
The commercial sphere for Portuguese canned tomatoes is almost exclusively European, with the main markets being the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, and Poland. Of the 39,000 tonnes exported on average over the past few years, less than 2,800 tonnes were destined for markets in North and South America, the Far East, Oceania, Africa, Asia, etc. The total value of Portuguese canned tomato exports in 2024 amounted to Euros 25 million, a 6% decrease from the average value recorded between 2021 and 2023.
Others
Half a dozen other countries are active in the global canned tomato market: Mexico, France, China, Canada, Poland, and Argentina. In 2024, these countries exported nearly 54,000 tonnes of finished products and represented 2.7% of global trade by volume; their activity has grown significantly in recent years, reaching a level 28% higher last year (11,600 tonnes) than in the previous three years.
In terms of turnover, foreign sales from these six countries represented USD 86 million in 2024, or 3.5% of the total value of global canned tomato trade. Taking into account rising product prices, the value recorded last year for all six countries represents a 49% increase (USD 28 million) compared to the average turnover for the previous three years (see additional information at the end of the article).
Some complementary data
Evolution of the total value of global exports of canned tomatoes, in USD.
Evolution of the indicative value of the global average price per tonne of canned tomatoes
Relative importance of different processing and exporting countries in the supplies of consuming regions
Evolution of the regional components of Italian canned tomato exports in Euros
Evolution of the regional components of Spanish canned tomato exports in Euros
Evolution of the US exports of canned tomatoes since 1990
Comparison of compound annual growth rate over past ten years for quantities and unit prices for the main countries exporting canned tomatoes
Evolution of the regional components of US exports of canned tomatoes in USD
Evolution of the regional components of Greek exports of canned tomatoes in Euros
Evolution of the prices of exports of canned tomatoes for the main supplying countries; this chart is part of the monthly monitoring of quantities and prices published in our website Tomato News (see also related articles below).
Evolution of the value of exports of canned tomatoes, for Mexico, France, China, Canada, Poland and Argentina.
Source : Trade Data Monitor
