Europe must intervene to stop environmental and social dumping

A few weeks ago, the Italian press has echoed the serious concerns of several representatives of the Italian tomato processing sector regarding imports of Chinese tomato derivatives and the conditions in which these derivatives are produced. 
“On this issue of Chinese tomatoes, produced in areas like Xinjiang where human rights are clearly violated and there is little or no attention to the environment, it is not clear why the European Union has not raised any concerns unlike the United States and Great Britain”. Giovanni De Angelis, general director of the national association of vegetable food canning manufacturers (Anicav), denounces the “real concern” of the entire tomato processing sector for the arrival on international markets of Chinese products “which become our competitors”. A phenomenon that sees Italy, “the main protagonist of this market in Europe, as the most penalised country”.

 The words of the Anicav DG join the alarm raised by the pages of the Financial Times, by Francesco Mutti, CEO of the eponymous group. "We should block the import of tomato concentrate from China or introduce a 60% tax on this product – said the number one of the Italian food group – so that its cost is not so different from that of Italian products". The concern for unfair Chinese competition, in this phase, is amplified by the increase in volumes. "This year production in China has gone from 6 million tonnes two years ago to 11 million: it is clear that by almost doubling production and not being large consumers, all the tomatoes in excess of domestic consumption are destined for foreign markets and this creates difficulties for us because they become our competitors in the world", explained De Angelis.

According to data from the World Processing Tomato Council, in 2022 the total amount of tomatoes processed in China was 6.2 million tons, of which over 5 million tons in Xinjiang, a region repeatedly at the center of complaints from international organizations for forced labor and human rights violations, and another million in Inner Mongolia. This year, again according to the WPTC, China has almost reached 11 million tons (10.45 million).
“We have always been exporters of processed tomatoes and we tend to have a non-protectionist policy – De Angelis underlined – Culturally we are for open and free markets but on this issue of Chinese tomatoes produced in some areas such as Xinjiang where there is a clear violation of human rights and there is little attention to the environment, it is not clear why the European Union has not addressed the issue unlike the United States and Great Britain”. Europe, De Angelis states, “must provide itself with a guarantee of reciprocity in respecting the rules: we open the doors of our borders as long as the same conditions are respected for our producers and processors. Where there are violations of our ethical-social and environmental standards we ask for prohibition policies”.

Non-European competition leverages price, conditioning the entire market: “We are not afraid to compete on quality with competitors – observes the Anicav DG – but in a situation like the current one, as much as we want to impose our quality that justifies a higher price, where the latter is much, much lower we suffer unfair competition. At the same time, it is equally evident that we cannot lower it to that level”. “On German shelves – he continues – we are witnessing a proliferation of non-European derivative products that was unimaginable just a few years ago and this is symptomatic of international pressure, especially from China”.

In this market scenario, Italy is the country in Europe that has the greatest interest in stopping this phenomenon of “social and environmental dumping”: with 5.4 million tons processed in 2023, we have confirmed our position as the third largest processor in the world after the United States and China. “We are the leading exporter of tomato-derived products destined directly for the final consumer,” De Angelis recalls. “The percentage of processed products we export is close to 60%.” A share that remains mainly in Europe, the reference market with 60% of our exports, “but we do not neglect non-EU markets, which are linked to the migratory flows of our fellow countrymen in the past: here, first of all, we find the United Kingdom, then there are the USA, Japan and Australia. Naturally, the USA are producers and exports are small, we have a significant market share there even if there is a significant Italian sounding. The case of Japan, however, is different, as they recognize us as a quality partner.”

As Anicav release in an official document addressed to the European institutions requested "protectionist anti-dumping or safeguard policies towards countries that have low or non-existent environmental and ethical-social standards, imposing either a ban on imports or trying to stem this trend. The United States and Great Britain have already done so. We presented this document at the tomato table at Masaf and we are working so that our government presents the request to the European institutions". Spain and Portugal, which are tomato processing countries, "can support our cause because it is a shared problem. Let's say that in the EU Italy represents more than half of the production, the other half is divided: a good part is covered by Spain, then there are Portugal, France and Greece". "Certainly – he concludes – we are the main protagonist of this market but also the most penalized".

Sources: askanews.it, firstonline.info, ilsole24ore.com, agi.it, finance.yahoo.com