Although the sector had already been showing signs of weakness, all started to get worse with the Russian veto to the fruit and vegetable products of the European Union, with tomatoes being one of the most affected products, as some 200,000 tonnes of Andalusian tomatoes could no longer be exported.
Meanwhile, we have also seen the influence of the exports from third countries, especially Morocco, as the country has focused much of its horticultural activity in the cultivation of tomatoes in order to increase its exports.
According to the head of fruits and vegetables at COAG, Andrés Góngora, these two aspects have led to increased supply on the market. "With the Russian veto, we saw a lower demand, and with the increasing exports from Morocco, there has been an increase in the supply of our competitor." This, in their view, creates a "perfect situation" for distribution chains, as "the abundance of product means they do not have to pay too much for it."
To these two circumstances, which are a direct cause of the crisis in the tomato sector, we must add the strategy of distribution chains, based on exerting continued pressure in order to push prices down. "Buyers are in a privileged position, because they know that we are weak and we are not standing together; they always ask for lower prices because they know that they can get them," assures Góngora, stressing the need to promote unity and cohesion in the sector to be able to deal with these "abuses."
Falling prices
Although the market is oscillating and it is difficult to paint an accurate picture of the situation, in winter, which is when the product reaches a higher price (because there is less competition and countries like the Netherlands or France do not produce), prices were actually at their cheapest level. Prices have fallen by up to 40% for some varieties.
On average, Almeria's tomatoes reach a price at origin of around 0.50 Euro per kilo, and this year sales have been made at prices of between 0.38 and 0.42 Euro per kilo. "Ultimately, not a lot of money has been earned this campaign and the production costs have not been covered," affirms Góngora.
This data shows that prices stand between 15 and 20 cents per kilo below the production cost. Almeria's tomato production this season is expected to reach around 800,000 tonnes (up to one million tonnes were reached in the boom years), so the overall losses for producers in the province are estimated at between 80 and 100 million Euro.
COAG assures that this crisis is already having consequences in the south east of Andalusia (Almeria and Granada), which has gone from almost 12,000 hectares of crops in the years 2010 and 2011, when tomatoes were profitable, to just 9,000 this year. This entails that about 25% of the acreage has been lost.
The expert states that this decline is the result of the growers' concerns about the loss of income, which is leading them to consider abandoning tomatoes and plant other crops that are cheaper to produce.
"Given that tomatoes account for 25% of the total acreage of Almeria, Granada, Murcia and Malaga, if there was a greater switch to other crops, we would no longer talk about a tomato crisis, but a crisis of the entire fruit and vegetable sector," warns Góngora.
