The volume of tomatoes sold in contracts by Extremadura has suffered a slight 4.05% drop compared to last season and stands at 1,994,113 tonnes, according to Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Extremadura. There has also been a 4.29% drop in the contracted acreage, which has gone from 23,579 hectares in 2017 to 22,568 this year.
This reduction of the acreage has been lower for Extremaduran cooperatives, which accounted for 13,888 hectares in the last campaign and 13,761 hectares in this year's campaign.
The entities that are integrated in the cooperative union represent 60.24% of the region's tomato contracting, as well as almost 61% of the acreage devoted to this crop.
The federation assures that this situation will be good for the sector, as it will prevent the accumulation of stocks and ensure good market conditions. The notable drops in the production volumes of Andalusia and Portugal (due to water scarcity) will also contribute to this.
This year, Extremadura's processors are purchasing 2,030,222 tonnes of tomatoes; 3.28% less than last season, when the total volume stood at 2,098,993 tonnes. The figure corresponding to the four processors in the cooperative sector (Carnes y Vegetales, Pronat, Tomalia and Tomates del Guadiana) stands at 773,966 tonnes, which is lower than the 841,632 tonnes purchased last year.
Cooperative industries devote 8,687 hectares to this production, which is almost 38% of the total acreage intended for industrial tomatoes, which amounts to 22,897 hectares this campaign.
Source: EFE