AKI: fewer tomatoes were grown in Hungary and globally

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In the summary published on the website of the AKI, quoting the October forecast of the World Tomato Processors Association (WPTC), they wrote: on a global level, the harvest of industrial tomatoes may decrease by 4.9 percent to 37.2 million tons in 2022 compared to the previous year. The number one producer in the Union is Italy, where the harvest may decrease by 10 percent to 5.48 million tons, in Spain by 10 percent to 2.1 million tons, and in Portugal by 17 percent to 1.3 million tons. According to the European Commission’s short-term forecast, the crop of tomatoes intended for the fresh market in the EU may decrease by 3 percent to 6.2 million tons in 2022 compared to 2021. Compared to the average of the last five years, this represents a 5 percent drop, they added.

Imports of tomatoes to the EU have increased

According to Eurostat data, in the first eight months of this year, 459.7 thousand tons of tomatoes from the Netherlands (minus 17 percent) and 393.1 thousand tons from Spain (plus 6 percent) arrived on the EU internal market. The EU’s fresh tomato imports are characterized by an increasing trend, while its exports are decreasing. Imports from Morocco increased by 17 percent to 331,000 tons in the first eight months of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. At the same time, the Union’s export of fresh tomatoes to third countries decreased by 2 percent (254.3 thousand tons), within which exports to the United Kingdom decreased by 6 percent to 180.7 thousand tons.
In Hungary, according to KSH data, 171.7 thousand tons of tomatoes were harvested from 1,940 hectares last year

According to the October forecast of the WPTC, the quantity of industrial tomatoes in Hungary may decrease by 30 percent to 80,000 tons in 2022 compared to 2021

According to experts, the production of tomatoes intended for fresh consumption this summer was hampered by the heat, drought, pests, as well as the rise in energy and input prices – they noted in the AKI’s summary. They add that, according to KSH data, the passive foreign trade turnover of fresh or chilled tomatoes in the first eight months of 2022 was 2.95 billion forints, after the passive 3.97 billion forints in the same period of the previous year. The amount of imports decreased by 18 percent to 14.2 thousand tons, within this, imports from Spain, which supplies the most tomatoes, fell by 21 percent to 4.90 thousand tons, from Italy by 44 percent to 333.7 tons, while imports from Turkey increased by 10 percent to 1.711 thousand tons. The export of tomatoes increased by 10 percent to 11.05 thousand tons, mainly going to the Czech Republic (4.95 thousand tons) and Slovakia (2.98 thousand tons) during the observed period.

MTI