Il Filo Rosso del Pomodoro – ANICAV public meeting

ANICAV: “COMPETITIVENESS OF THE SECTOR AT RISK. A COHESIVE SUPPLY CHAIN IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCING PRODUCTION COSTS.”

President Serafini: “The primacy of absolute quality of ‘Made in Italy’ remains strong, but we must be wary of the entry of new producing countries that focus on price leverage and risk taking away significant market share from us.”

Domestic consumption remains stable. In the first half of 2025, exports fell in volume (-3.6%) and value (-10.7%). The negative trend is linked to the US tariff issue.

The results of a particularly long and complex tomato processing campaign and a series of critical issues that negatively affect efficiency and profitability: from supply chain governance management to the arrival on international markets of competing countries which, although not affecting the domestic market, risk taking market share away from our exports. These are some of the main issues addressed during the ANICAV Public Assembly, held in Naples during the thirteenth edition of Il Filo Rosso del Pomodoro, which was attended by representatives of institutions, key players in the processing sector and the entire tomato supply chain, from agriculture to packaging. The debate stemmed from the presentation of a study conducted by The European House – Ambrosetti, on behalf of ANICAV, entitled: “Designing the future: challenges and opportunities for the tomato supply chain,” and from the considerations made by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, who defined the industrial tomato supply chain as a “pillar of Italian agri-food.”

The sector in numbers

The 2025 tomato processing campaign in Italy ended with a production of approximately 5.8 million tons, slightly up in 2024, but still below (-10% approx.) the planned figure. Italy is once again the world’s second largest tomato processing country after the United States and ahead of China, which, after the boom of recent years, has drastically reduced production in light of difficulties mainly related to maintaining foreign market share. Our country accounts for 14.4% of world production and 53.8% of European processing.

Italy remains firmly the leading producer and exporter of tomato products destined directly for the end consumer. In 2024, foreign markets showed positive signs in terms of both volume (+6.5%) and value (+3.8%). In the first half of 2025, however, there was a reduction in exports in terms of volume (-3.6%) and value (-10.7%) compared to the first half of 2024, almost certainly linked to the uncertainty caused by the US tariff issue (until 2024, the sector was subject to taxation for exports to the US of between 6% and 12% depending on the formats and references, now it has risen to 15% for all products). Europe, led by Germany, once again confirmed its position as the main market for our derivatives. Significant shares are represented by the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Australia.

An analysis of internal consumption data in the retail channel shows that consumption in the first half of 2025 was essentially stagnant compared to last year, with a slight decline in market share in terms of both volume (-0.4%) and value (-0.5%). The largest decline was in pulp and whole peeled tomatoes. Tomato sauce continues to be the best-selling product, accounting for 63.4% of the tomato products market. This is followed by pulp (20.4%), peeled tomatoes (10.9%), cherry tomatoes (3.8%), and concentrate (1.7%). The “out-of-home” channel remained stable, accounting for the majority (67%) of the total volume of tomato products consumed in Italy (approximately 2.1 million tons).

“Our annual public meeting is the ideal opportunity to reflect, together with the institutions and all those involved in the industrial tomato supply chain, on the current situation, the critical issues we face, and the strategies to be implemented in order to look to the future with confidence,” said ANICAV President Marco Serafini. The primacy of absolute quality that our ‘Made in Italy’ products have achieved over the decades remains firm; however, it is necessary to focus carefully on the changes underway, in particular the entry of new producing countries which, while unable to guarantee the same level of quality, are focusing on price leverage and risk taking away significant market share from us. In the long term, this situation could create difficulties, especially considering that our sector has always been strongly export-oriented. To prevent these risks, it will therefore be essential to make the entire supply chain more efficient, so as to reduce costs without compromising quality, by addressing a number of specific issues. I am thinking, for example, of the proper management of water resources, an area in which Masaf has just announced important measures, listening to our requests; the EU ban on the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers, which has a negative impact on agricultural yields and puts us at a disadvantage compared to countries that are not subject to the same restrictions; and, again, the strong impact of the ETS system, which imposes standards on emissions and consumption that are unmatched anywhere else in the world, without taking adequate account of the seasonal nature of our work. These are complex issues that we must address together in order to find concrete solutions.”

“One of the central themes of the debate is undoubtedly that of supply chain governance and the need to improve relations between the agricultural and industrial sectors,” continues ANICAV Director General Giovanni De Angelis. “We therefore need more constructive dialogue, placing interprofessional cooperation at the heart of the renewal process. However, this cooperation needs to be rethought in terms of its scope of competence and operating model, particularly in central and southern Italy. In this complex scenario, framework agreements remain an essential and central tool for proper planning. Only in this way can we hope to counteract the evident decline in agricultural yields and the increase in production costs, and then aim to distribute value more evenly throughout the supply chain, ensuring its competitiveness. We are ready to do our part, especially considering that the price paid in Italy by the processing industry to farmers for raw materials has always been the highest in the world.”