Spain: Tomato production and acreage on the decrease

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM) anticipates that Spain will produce 3,883,200 tonnes of tomato in 2011, a decrease of 11% in comparison with 2010, when 4,371,700 tonnes of this vegetable were harvested. The area devoted to this crop is also expected to fall. Mr. Rafael Salinas, from Syngenta Iberia, offers an analysis of tomato production in this country over the last 3 years.

As the graph below shows, according to the latest estimations, tomatoes cover an area of 51,600 hectares in 2011, a fall of 13% on 2010. This decrease in both production volume and acreage continues the downward trend of the last few years. In 2010, tomato production and acreage dropped 9% and 7% respectively in comparison with 2009.

An analysis of the situation

According to Mr. Rafael Salinas, who will take up the post of Tomato Portfolio Manager Iberia from January 2012, in the 2010/2011 crop year there was a delay in planting, which led to good prices in autumn, but overproduction in winter, which had a negative impact on prices.

"The fall in the average price had a big effect on overall production, and then the E. coli outbreak in Germany had a negative impact on all long-cycle cycle crops and short-cycle crops planted for harvest during spring and summer,” the expert told Tomatoes Today. In March, the average price did not exceed 15 cents. Consequently, growers decided to cut their losses and clear all the crops. In some regions such as Níjar, for example, growers suffered losses due to the TYLVC virus, particularly in early crops.

During the 2009/2010 crop year, the biggest problem was caused by the poor weather conditions. As Mr. Salinas explained, “the autumn of 2009 was one of the rainiest in decades. Due to the lack of watertight infrastructures to protect crops from rain, there was a significant decline in crop quality. The poor weather conditions also led to a higher incidence of fungal diseases, resulting in an increase in non-commercial production and a reduction in total production.” The previous crop year of 2008/2009 had ended with severe Tuta Absoluta infestations.

Spanish tomato production and acreage: 2009-2011



Finally, the Syngenta expert observed that in the last 2-3 years, tomato acreage and production has also fallen due to the disappearance of large producers in the Murcia area and fewer crop cycles. Acreage has shrunk in Almería, because many growers have found that tomato crops are barely profitable, due to falling prices in recent years and rising production costs.

In recent years, tomatoes for processing have covered an area of 32,000-35,000 hectares. However, “this area has decreased due to the influence of other crops such as corn, which have provided an alternative in certain production regions like Extremadura, since they offer growers higher profitability,” Mr. Salinas reports. “A further factor in the decline is the uncertainty surrounding prices paid by the processing industry,” he added.