Northern Italy: 70% of contracts have been delivered

According to the latest press release published by the OI Pomodoro da Industria in Northern Italy, the industrial tomato campaign is booming throughout Northern Italy. To date, 70% of the raw material contracted in the North, where 38,621 hectares have been cultivated by 2021, has already been harvested.

"The tomato was delivered to processing companies in a continuous and smooth manner – explains Tiberio Rabboni, president of the Inter-professional Organization OI Pomodoro da Industria in Northern Italy – without being interrupted by the rains, which were absent in August. The start of the campaign was not the simplest from a climatic point of view, in particular due to the severe hailstorms of July 26, which seriously affected over 2,000 hectares of tomatoes in the northern territory ".

Deliveries in August were also record-breaking with unprecedented quantities supplied to the factories with approximately 400,000 tonnes per week.
"All this – underlines Rabboni – is the result of careful planning of transplants in spring, of great efficiency in harvesting, perfect organization in transport and excellent synergy with the speed of reception and processing by the industry. In particular, the scheduling of transplants, spread over a long period, made it possible to avoid the problem of over-ripening in the central weeks of August”. 

The quality is also excellent with a high brix degree, with a value of almost 5°, close to historical highs, and with an excellent result in colour and berry resistance.
“Processing companies – concludes Rabboni – are making excellent products for national and international markets. The accounts will be done at the end of the campaign, but field yields are expected to be higher than the historical average value. In addition to the good yields in the field, there is a payment index close to 100 by the industry to farmers, a result of the good quality and little waste of the tomato delivered. The good payment index, applied to a higher reference price than in previous years, translates into a real distribution of value along the supply chain ".

Source: OI Pomodoro Nord Italy