WPTC crop update as of 19 August 2022
22/08/2022
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Sophie Colvine
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2022 Season
The harvest progresses in most countries but with continued uncertainties regarding the volumes of tomatoes which will be available for the middle and end of the harvest season following the heatwaves and lack of water. It is probable that the current global estimate of 38 million tonnes will not be reached.
AMITOM countries
Egypt
The processing of the summer crop continues but with a low supplied quantities to the factories as we are in a transition period between two loops of the summer crop. Fields will return to the normal ratio of supply within 7-10 days. The forecast remains the same and quality is good in terms of color, brix & yield.
France
As of 15 August, 55,000 tonnes have been processed with a disappointing brix of only 4.82. The harvest is more or less disrupted this week due to heavy rain last weekend and today in the South-East. It is also the same in the South-West but with less rain. It is possible that the previous heatwave combined now to the rain will affect the total production which may not reach 150,000 tonnes.
Greece
The weather has been fluctuating between high temperatures, hail and rains. A peak was expected last week and did not happen, and a longer season is now anticipated. Quality is goo with the brix higher now, nearly at normal levels with 4.95 now. To date, 35% of the forecast has been achieved with 130,000 tonnes already processed.
Hungary
The weather is still warm and very dry with historical minimum water levels of lakes and rivers. Processing started on 12 August. Yields are poor but Brix is good, above 5. After the smaller initial incoming quantities, the processing was ramped up for today. The total forecast remains 90,000 tonnes.
Italy
In the North of the country, the last report from the IO state that 885,000 tonnes had been processed as of 7 August with an average brix 5,03 and penalty of 4%. The estimated processed quantity last week is above 400,000 tonnes so as of 14 August, the total quantity should be around 1.3 million tonnes, which is more than 45% of the budget. The harvest is progressing fast, and all factories are at full capacity. Field yields are now average, but they are expected to reduce for the middle and late crop and the harvest should end early with decreasing yields. Now there is no issue with diseases and a good colour. Some storms last week with localized hails caused only limited damages and more rain is expected tomorrow. The forecast remains 2.75 million tonnes.
In the Centre/South, as of 7 August, 730,000 tonnes had been processed. Last Saturday, heavy rain and hail affected Puglia (damages still being assessed) and on Monday thunderstorms with heavy rain and strong winds hit Caserta and Lazio, so factories are now running slow. Factories should go back to speed this afternoon, but more rain is expected on Friday and Saturday. Fruit quality is generally good although brix is lower than usual at 4.9 due to the high temperatures and now the rains. Total crop could be a bit lower than the 2.65 million tonnes forecast but it will depend on the late crop and the rains could have some beneficial effects on yield.
Portugal
Factories are now at full capacity, with good quality and colour. Yield is lower than last year but there is still no reliable data regarding the decrease, and it is difficult to evaluate yield on the latter part of the crop which may have been affected by the very high temperatures. Temperatures are now lower with cold nights but should increase again in the next week. At the end of last week, about 30% of the crop was processed. The forecast remains the same.
Spain
As of 15 August, 33% of the forecast has been processed and all factories are now at full capacity. In Extremadura, many fields are being harvested 10-12 days in advance as the very high temperatures of the last two months have accelerated maturation. In Andalusia there is a big delay versus a normal crop, and the crop is now at its peak. The temperatures are now back to normal with 30-35°C during the day and a minimum of 18°C. It is now clear that the late crop will be affected by the flower abortions caused by the high heat, so the total forecast is reduced to 2.25 million tonnes.
Tunisia
As of 15 August, 99% of the surface of 12,671 hectares has been harvested with an average yield of 54 t/ha. At that date 553,912 tonnes of tomatoes had been processed, 39% less than last year at the same date, with 85,217 tonnes of paste produced. Only 4 of the 19 factories remain open and processed on average 5,000 t/day last week. Processing of the late tomatoes should continue at this pace in North-West of the country until the end of the month to reach a total volume processed of 600,000 tonnes.
Turkey
The southern area is close to an end with a few fields left. The Central area (Bursa) will reach its peak this week. The yields in this area in some fields which use water from the channels have yield issues due to Boron in the water. The contracted prices have been raised by most of the industry to stabilize the supply of raw material. The northern part (Konya) has started and is expected to go on for a long time with a larger than usual surface area planting. The forecast remains the same.
Other countries
California
The estimate is to process 896,610 short tons (813,391 metric tonnes) this week. At the end of this week (week ending August 20) we will have processed 4,409,683 short tons (3,999,778 metric tonnes). This is nearly 500,000 short tons (454,000 metric tonnes) behind last year at the same point in time. Field yields continue to underperform against contracted levels. Growers are finding very high levels of green fruit, causing many to slow down or stop harvesting, resulting in processors having to operate at less than full capacity. The next official NASS/USDA estimate should be released the last week in August.
Other US States
Midwest processors will be started the week of 15 August with a cool, dry weather to start the tomato harvest.
Canada
Harvest in Ontario has just begun. The early crop was impacted by lack of rain and experienced some blossom end rot, but overall, solids, colour and yield look good, with disease pressure remaining low. While it’s early in the harvest season, it is anticipated that total contracted volume of 552,244 short tons (c. 501,000 metric tonnes) will be achieved.
China
Most factories in Xinjiang opened by the end of July. And are now running. The plants in Inner Mongolia started on August 10 which is one week later than usual. The weather conditions are basically normal, with sporadic rain. The forecast for now remain stable at 5.8 million tonnes. The price of early tomatoes has increased to RMB 500-550 yuan/MT (72-79 euro/MT, 74-82 USD/MT). Some processing plants are very active in buying tomatoes.
Japan
In the Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Hokuriku regions, heavy rain has continued locally from the beginning of August to the present. Due to the damage caused by this heavy rain, the overall yield is expected to decrease. Consequently, the total volume of tomatoes to be processed may be changed to 27,000 tonnes.
South Africa
The season should end about two weeks earlier than normal during September. The industry projects a 120,000-tonne harvest, which is nearly 30% below the planned expected volumes. 95% of volumes are already delivered.
Source: WPTC
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