WPTC crop update as of 6 August 2021
09/08/2021
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WPTC
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2021 Season
As the 2020 harvest is picking pace in most of the Northern Hemisphere, poor weather in a few countries lead to a small reduction of the overall forecast which now stands at 38.6 million tonnes.
AMITOM countries
Egypt
After a stoppage for Eid, all factories are now open and working at full capacity. Farm yield, fruit quality, colour and brix are good. The temperatures are now higher which help the fruit ripen. There is no change to the forecast.
France
The harvest started on 25 July in the southeast in the two large and one small plants. A total of 6,000 tonnes was processed last week, 14% of which organic. Brix is quite good at 4.9 and pH low. Yields are very good in the south of the region (Camargue) with yields above 100 t/ha, but some diseases are developing in the north.
In the southwest, the harvest will only start mid-August, but the very wet weather (250 mm of rain in the last two months) favoured the development of diseases including late blight on most of the surfaces.
Greece
The country is in the 6th day of the worst heatwave in 30 years, with daily temperature of up to 45°C but luckily temperatures drop at night to about 18 to 25°C. It is however expected that about 20,000 tonnes may be lost so the forecast is now reduced to 440,000 tonnes. To date only about 10% of the crop has been processed overall, c. 30% in the South and 5% in the Centre/North. Fruit quality to date has been good.
Hungary
There are further crop losses due to heatwaves at 38°C, so the annual forecast needs to be reduced to 90,000 tonnes.
Italy
In the North, only about 5 to 10% of the crop has been harvested to date due to a delay of almost a week. Many rainstorms and hail last week mainly in Emilia Romagna and Lombardy have affected more than 1,000 hectares but the full extent of the damages and its potential effect on the total volume is still under evaluation. It is hoped that the weather will improve from tomorrow as to date the campaign has been stop and go. Fruit quality is standard, with an average brix of 4.9, a good colour and a low ph.
In the South, fruit quality is similar to the north and better than last year with low pH which is good for canning, good colour and brix. The issue is that the harvest in Caserta started a week late while the crop in Puglia was on time which means that there is an overlap in the supply to factories which are therefore working double shifts to absorb the large volumes. There is also an issue with truck availability as the wheat harvest is late. The overall forecast remains unchanged as a small increase in the south may compensate losses in the north.
Portugal
Most factories opened in the middle of last week and so far, fruit quality has been good with generally good colour, quite high brix, and low ph. The weather has been quite cool with not very hot temperatures during the day and quite cool at night, which is good for tomatoes, so the crop looks very good. The forecast remains unchanged.
Russia
The harvest has just started, with rather small volumes in July and beginning of August with diced and peeled tomatoes production. July was very hot, speeding the ripening. Full capacity in Astrakhan and KBR regions should be achieved next week. The forecast is maintained at 550,000 tonnes.
Spain
As of 31 July, we estimate that 389,000 tonnes had been delivered in Spain (12% of the total crop, which is higher than average). In Andalucía factories are already working at full capacity and the yields are high as usually in the area. In Extremadura most factories started on the week of 26 July, and they expect to reach full capacity by the end of this week. Some factories are reporting these first weeks a brix lower than last year.
In the North the harvest will start between 10 and 15 August but will not reach full capacity until September.
In all regions the crop looks good, and the weather is favourable with no extreme temperatures, so the forecast remains unchanged.
Tunisia
As of 2 August, 14 factories out of 24 are processing tomatoes coming from the production regions in the Northwest of the country. It is estimated that at that date 80% of the surface has been harvested and 763,000 tonnes of tomatoes have been processed. The total forecast is revised down to 950,000 tonnes of which 900,000 tonnes to produce tomato paste and 50,000 tonnes to produce canned tomatoes.
Turkey
Slow start to the season with the peak expected in about 10 days in the north. Less surfaces planted than last year, but better yields mean that tomatoes are available. Spot prices were low at the beginning due to bunching at the start but now picking up. Colours are good. For now, the first forecast is maintained.
Ukraine
The harvest should start at the end of next week a bit later than usual. It is probable that the crop size will be down on the initial forecast of 850,000 tonnes (maybe 800,000 to 820,000 tonnes) but this will be confirmed once the harvest starts.
Other countries
California
The estimate is to process 888,937 short tons (806,430 metric tonnes) this week. At the end of this week (week ending 7 August) we will have processed 3,204,241 short tons (2,906,620 metric tonnes). Yields are currently performing somewhat below average at the present time. Solids are currently at historical averages. Quality and colour continue to perform well.
US Midwest & other states
Pack will start mid-August in the Midwest. Some rains in a small portion of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan will give reduced tonnage. At the same time, other areas are expected to be above average to make up the shortage. The mid-summer rains and high temperatures in the 90-degree F also brought disease to some early varieties. The forecast of 500,000 short tons (454,000 metric tonnes) is maintained to date.
Canada
The harvest season is getting close with processors expecting to start mid-August. It is anticipated that approximately 20% of the crop will be lost due to excess rain and heat earlier in the season, and some disease pressure.
China
The harvest started on 1st August. The forecast remains unchanged.
Japan
The weather had been unsettled in July, but growth is still going well so far for the most areas in Japan. The forecast remains as before at 32,000 tonnes.
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