The volume of tomatoes processed in Turkey has increased over the last ten years to reach an average of 2.5 million tonnes in the last five years.

The production and processing of tomatoes is carried out mainly in these four regions

-in the region situated between Manisa and Izmir, along the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, growers harvest early-season tomatoes from mid-July to supply the local factories, but also those situated in the north before their local production begins.

–  in the region of Balikesir where the harvest starts later

–  in  the region around Karacabey, 60 km west of Bursa, on the southern coast of the Marmara Sea where many of the factories are situated, production usually starts at the end of July to finish mid-October

–  in the region of Konya in the centre of the country, where production is smaller and starts later

Most of the time, tomatoes are grown on small farms that plant between 3 and 4 hectares on average, but there are also larger operations that can plant up to 50 hectares of processing tomatoes. Contracts signed at the beginning of the season between processors and growers generally account for 50 to 60% of the production. Seeds or young plants are then supplied by the processor, with more than three quarters of the varieties being hybrids chosen for their high soluble solids contents. Processors also provide technical assistance for growers, as well as fertilizers, financial advances on payments and even pesticides when diseases appear. Young plants are almost all started in plant nurseries. When tomatoes are not grown under contract, they are generally sold to brokers who distribute the best fruit on the table-tomato market and only sell the remainder to processors. Some of the crop, especially when not grown under contracts, is still harvest manually.

Altogether, the country’s more than 50 factories have a processing capacity of more than 80 000 metric tonnes per day, which means that they can absorb any peaks in production that may occur during the season, for a total annual production capacity amounts to approximately 600 000 tonnes of tomato paste. It is also estimated that 300 000 tonnes of dried tomatoes are produced each year (70% sun-dried and 30% oven-dried). 

Turkey is a major exporter of tomato paste, notably to the Middle East, Japan and Russia, while exports to the EU countries are low due to the ineffectiveness of the Turkish duty-free tariff quotas. The country also has large domestic market estimated to be about 1.5 million tonnes equivalent fresh tomatoes mainly packed as canned paste and ketchup.

Turkish tomato processors are represented within AMITOM and WPTC by SALKONDER.