There are major availability problems for the datterino and cherry tomatoes. The main processing companies are experiencing severe quantity issues, caused by a 30% decrease in the supplies, especially in Puglia.
The areas devoted to the tomato farming are smaller compared to last year. In 2017 indeed, the industry had too much product and therefore underpaid it. At that point, farmers less invested in datterino/cherry tomatoes, thus utilising the surfaces for peeled and round tomatoes.
An operator told us, “Nowadays, processing companies are facing hard times. They are desperately looking for the product. They turn to the fresh sector, willingly to pay more for the product – if only they can find it. I think we need a better planning and we need to respect the contracts signed during the pre-campaign. It would be extremely useful for everyone: farmers would have a sure revenue and industry would not have to spend more money than usual on products that are generally easy to find."