What will the tomato sector look like in 2020? What are the opportunities to improve production, and how will sales develop? These questions are at the forefront of the first international tomato conference, which started on 13 April in Antwerp. The three-day conference had more than 200 visitors. The event was divided into a commercial and a scientific part, and visitors could choose in which session they wanted to participate.
Numbers and insights
On the first day, during the commercial part, trends in tomato production from several countries were in the spotlight. Speakers from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain and Italy presented participants with numbers and insights into tomato farming and markets in their own country.
Keynote speaker Philippe Binard
“Global production of tomatoes amounts to over 130 million tonnes,” Philippe Binard of Freshfel said. “China is the largest producer with 40 million tonnes. Europe is number two, and produces about 16 million tonnes of tomatoes. Other countries that have high production are the United States, India and Turkey.” In Europe, Spain and Italy are the largest producers of tomatoes. Europe exports a lot of tomatoes, but in certain months lots of import also takes place. The country within Europe that exports the most tomatoes is the Netherlands (931,000 tonnes) and the country within Europe that imports the largest volumes is Germany (817,000 tonnes). The European tomato export has been under much pressure since the Russian boycot.
14 and 15 April
On Thursday, 14 April there were several more speakers sharing their experiences in, for example, trends, quality, segmentation, marketing, sustainability and consumption of tomatoes. On Friday, 15 April a tour will take place during which a visit will be paid to growers and Belgian cooperatives.
