Italy: Price agreed for the 2025 season in the South

After months of negotiations, the agreement for the management of the next processing campaign in the Central Southern Italy Basin was reached on 11 April, with the definition reference average prices for tomatoes on the basis of the Area Framework Contract signed on 11 February by ANICAV and the Producer Organizations members of the OI Pomodoro da Industria Bacino Centro Sud Italia. 
 
The agreement introduces important changes to the raw material evaluation criteria, in particular to the ‘foreign bodies’ and ‘green tomato’ parameters, with the introduction of a new system of quality grids and premium mechanisms that will allow the agricultural side a higher remuneration compared to last year's conditions, while guaranteeing, at the same time, to the canning companies, a higher quality of raw material for processing.
 
Without prejudice to the contractual autonomy of the individual companies when signing the supply contracts, the parties, on the basis of a series of criteria, have also defined an average reference price of reference price of 147,50€/tonne for round tomatoes and 155€/tonne for long tomatoes and a surcharge of 42.50€/tonne for organic.
 
While these base prices represent a small reduction compared with 2024 when the average reference price was 150 euros/metric tonne for round tomatoes and 160 euros/ metric tonne for long tomatoes, with an additional 30 euros/ metric tonne for organic, the new contractual conditions and the different evaluations introduced should lead to an overall higher average price compared to last year, due to the higher quality that is being guaranteed.
 
“A sense of responsibility has prevailed”, declared ANICAV, “the agreement reached is certainly onerous for our companies, especially in light of the difficult international situation, but the average reference price recognised on the agricultural side, which is in fact higher than that of the 2024 campaign and which is undoubtedly the highest in the world, will serve to guarantee companies an improvement in the already high quality standards and maximum care at harvest time, on which we will have to be uncompromising during the campaign.”
 
For the signatory POs, the agreement reached is “certainly an ambitious one that, without neglecting the primary need to recognise fair remuneration to the farming world, overcoming old evaluation systems, looks towards a necessary and unavoidable dialogue with the processing industry, to processing industry, to protect a sector that is fundamental for the economy of southern Italy”.
 
 Source: ANICAV

Note from the editor: clarification added on 16/04/2025 that while the base prices are lower than in 2024, the overall price should be higher in 2025