Latest trends in the global market for tomato products

Javier Muñoz from Euromonitor International was invited to present the latest trends in the global market for tomato products during the 2023 Tomato News conference in Parma on 27  October 2023.
 
The scope of the study presented by Javier Munoz covered six categories of products: refrigerated and frozen pizzas, tomato concentrates and purees, tomato sauces, ketchup, dips and shelf stable tomatoes (canned tomatoes).
 
Among the most striking points of this study, the results show that the different product segments all show clearly positive growth rates over recent years, between 1% for canned tomatoes and up to 2.1% for dips.
 
Over the last five years, the evolution of per capita consumption is positive in North America (+0.7%), in Western Europe (+3%) and very strong in Latin America (+17.9%); the Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia-Pacific markets are generally stable; only the Australasia region recorded a significant decline (-3.3%).
 
Regional data also reveals a depression in 2020 after which the market for all processed tomato products in Western Europe returns to its previous levels, close to or slightly above 5.13 million tonnes.
 

  
Four markets (Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and France) provide more than two thirds of European consumption; between 2019 and 2023, while other European countries record a marked “trough” in 2020 and sometimes in 2021, only Germany shows notable growth over these same years.
 
In terms of purchasing behavior, the weight of “health concerns” (convenience, health, nutrition, weight, etc.) is decreasing due to the pressure of inflation and weakening budgets. Consumers are always looking for certain health aspects in products; all types of products combined, the number of references in packaged foods featuring health claims (sugars, salt, organic, natural, etc.) increased by 46% between September 2019 and March 2022.
 
The pandemic impacted the sector in different ways depending on the region and resulted in a drop of nearly 2.5% in consumption on a global scale in 2020. Inflationary pressure also impacted in varying ways depending on the region and segments retail prices of tomato products.
 
Concerning the future of the processed tomato sector, Javier Munoz explained that the global market for tomato derivatives is expected to grow by 10.5% in the next four or five years, with contrasting dynamics depending on the region. In absolute figures, the growth forecast by Euromonitor is expected to increase the global tomato derivatives market from 33.38 million tonnes in 2023 to 36.89 million tonnes in 2027.
 

 The video and slides of Javier Munoz's presentation are not available due to copyright issues but a detailed report on the global tomato products market commissioned by Tomato News to Euromonitor is available to free of charge here,