The information website by, for and about
the tomato processing industry globally

Fresh versus processed tomato production in 2023

19/05/2025

Sophie Colvine
Ukraine,
Middle East
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Under a quarter of the tomatoes produced globally are processed.

According to the FAO database, in 2023 (the last year for which data is available), the total tomato production reached a new record with over 192 million tonnes. This represents an CAGR of 1.5% over the last ten years.

If we compare this total volume with the WPTC data, 23% of the total volume is processed with more than three-quarters of tomatoes consumed fresh. 
 

China is by far the largest producer with over 70 millions tonnes of which an estimated 11% are processed, while in the second biggest India only 1%  are processed. At number 3, Turkey processes 20% of all tomatoes. Most of the other countries in the top 25 have a tomato processing industry, but the share between fresh and process varies greatly, with some countries processing a large share of their production.
 


 

Care shoud be taken in analysing the agricultural yields as the FAO numbers also include production in greenhouses.

According to FAO  and WPTC figures, the proportion of processing tomatoes in the total worldwide tomato production has decreased from about 30% in the 1990s to about 21% in recent years, with 23% in 2023 when the processed volumes were exceptionally high. 
 

Sources: FAO, WPTC