Spain’s tomato sector beset by multiple challenges

In the last summer tomato campaign, Spain produced 475,051 tons (-6% Y-o-Y), while the forecast for Spain’s coming winter campaign is 1.2 million tons of tomatoes, similar to last year’s.

Both volume and production area are falling due to increased costs, which are estimated to have grown by over 34% on average since June 2021, and the decline in household consumption. According to the latest data from the MAPA Food Consumption Panel, until August of this year, consumption was down by 1.5% compared to the same period in 2022, following the trend of previous years. In 2022, the decrease compared to 2021 was 11%. Another factor is the rising competition from non-EU countries. Morocco’s tomato exports in the 2022/2023 campaign exceeded 716,000 tons, which represents a growth of more than 25% in the last five years.