Above: entrepreneur Massimo Pavan during his report at the European Tomato Forum
These were some of the topics discussed by leading European tomato producers such as Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Eastern European countries.
Massimo Pavan talked as vice-president of Consorzio Igp Pomodoro di Pachino. The tomato variety was analysed as case history and used to discuss Sicilian tomatoes in general.
"The trend in northern and eastern European countries is to produce tomatoes that are tastier than the ones grown so far, which though cannot be compared to ours."
But what resources are needed to obtain this result? Pavan described conducts that don't seem environmentally sustainable.
"The Dutch say that most of the energy comes from renewable sources anyway, but why consume energy when it can be avoided? We need to make people aware of the fact that Mediterranean countries such as southern Italy, Greece and Spain use the so-called 'cold greenhouses', which are only heated up by the sun."
"More energy is required to obtain tastier produce, so energy consumption will with no doubt increase in Germany and Eastern Europe."
Another important issue discussed during the forum was packaging, as more sustainable methods will be employed in the future for smaller and more eco-friendly solutions."