TOMATO
As of 15 August, 29% of the total crop in Spain has been harvested.
In the Andalusia region, 51% of the harvest has already been completed and factories have been running at capacity for several weeks.
In the Extremadura region, only 25% of the forecast has been achieved as the harvest so far has been slow and yields have not been good. Full capacity was only achieved this week. A hailstorm on 11 August caused some crop damage and rain has disrupted the harvest in certain areas. Temperatures are now back to normal after a very hot few weeks and the weather forecast is good. Fruit quality is very good with higher brix than normal and good color making the crop ideal for production of tomato dices. The forecast for Spain has been lowered to 2.9 million tonnes with a lot of uncertainty still looming, especially in Extremadura which is in need of good weather in September.
In Portugal, The weather has been strange and unstable with cool temperatures which are now getting better. The crop quality is generally very good with good color and high brix, but field yields are still very poor. As of 15 August, only about 20 – 22% of the forecast has been processed. Currently, factories are running at 1/3rd – 2/3rd of their capacity due to rains which forced a gap in
the harvest. Larger volumes are expected to arrive next week and a large proportion of the crop will be harvested in September. The forecast remains at 1.3 million tonnes for the time being until there is enough data to revise the expectations.
In California, record high temperatures over the past week have threatened the crop and smoke from the various wildfires erupting around the state is further exacerbating the problem.
The estimate is to process 1,020,428 MT but the actual production is 925,630 MT this week. As of 15 August, the estimation is to process 5,063,430 MT while the actual is 4,593,037 MT. Yields in the south continue to perform below contracted levels and solids continue to be doing well.
In the Northern part of the state, overall yields are at contract at this time. There is some concern about the acceleration of the crop.
In the US Midwest, the tomato season has begun and the weather has been close to ideal for the start of the season resulting in a well-developed crop. The quality is above average for the beginning with yields as expected and slightly higher than the contracted amounts. The crop has moved forward a little in maturity and will help with some of the slower harvest to begin the season due to some of the planting delays.
The crop in China has also been affected by the climate this year as the production period has been delayed by 7-10 days compared with previous years. The specific production situation will not be clear until August 25th.