The last loads of industry tomatoes are currently being delivered in northern Italy. The campaign can be considered over and it is already possible to make an assessment.
The Pomodoro da Industria del Nord Italia interbranch organization certifies that 2,366,508 tons had been processed on October 13th, i.e. almost 82% of what negotiated at the start of the tomato campaign in northern Italy and in line with last year. Yields have dropped: 65 tons per hectare in 2019 against a five-year average of around 70 tons. The overall production on a national level has been estimated at around 4.8 million tons.
The quality of the tomatoes processed in the north is good and in line with the past years, as testified by the Brix level of 4.76. Overall, 36,600 hectares of industry tomatoes were cultivated in northern Italy, more than last year.
"Around 18% of the negotiated tomatoes is still missing, but the low yield per hectare is what mainly affected the outcome. This is because we have had to deal with rain and cold temperatures in May, which delayed transplants. What is more, the heatwaves that followed hindered the homogeneous development of plants. This further proves how climate change must be tackled effectively. The good weather in September and October helped us recover quantities. Tomato harvesting did not continue for longer than the third week in October over the past few years," reports president Tiberio Rabboni.
How hectares are divided up
36,600 hectares of industry tomatoes were cultivated in northern Italy in 2019. Piacenza leads the way (10,349 hectares) followed by Ferrara (6,408); Parma (4,274); Mantova (3,701); Ravenna (2,245); Cremona (2,008); Alessandria (1,846); Reggio Emilia (1,153); Modena (835); Verona (740); Brescia (547); Rovigo (525); Pavia (472); Lodi (401); Bologna (392); Cuneo (204); Milano (102); Forlì Cesena (94) and other provinces with lower quantities.