Global Tomato Product Outlook for 2024: Planting and Processing from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere

       With the arrival of 2024, the global tomato industry is facing new challenges and opportunities. From Europe and the United States in the northern hemisphere to Argentina and Australia in the southern hemisphere, the situation of tomato cultivation and processing varies from place to place, but all face their own challenges.

       In the northern hemisphere, Europe's Bulgaria, France, Greece and other countries have begun a new season of tomato processing. Despite some weather and competitive crop challenges, processing intentions have increased in these countries. Farmers and processors in Italy have shown great enthusiasm for tomato cultivation, but due to market conditions, processors hope to limit production. Farmers in Turkey are also keen to grow tomatoes, with production forecast to stabilize at 2.7 million tons.

       California, USA, has also attracted much attention. According to the USDA-NASS report, California's contracted production in 2024 is expected to be 10% lower than last year, and the contracted acreage is also 9% lower than last year's forecast.

       China's tomato industry is also developing rapidly, experiencing a process from scratch and from small to large. Starting from the contact with Italian tomato processing equipment in the 1980 s, China has established a preliminary tomato processing industry. With the passage of time, China's tomato industry has experienced several stages of development, from the scale of 100000 tons to 1.36 million tons in 2009. However, in recent years, due to a variety of factors, including the global epidemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the arid climate, China's tomato industry has ushered in new development opportunities. At present, China's tomato processing capacity has exceeded 2 million tons and is moving towards the world's first position.

       Looking to the future, the global tomato industry will continue to face a variety of challenges and opportunities. Planting and processing will be affected to varying degrees everywhere, from climate change to market conditions to competitive crops. However, with the progress of technology and the growth of market demand, the global tomato industry still has great potential for development. Whether in Europe and the United States in the northern hemisphere, Argentina and Australia in the southern hemisphere, or China, which is developing rapidly, the tomato industry everywhere is trying to adapt to the changing environment and improve production and quality to meet the needs of the global market.