Reader’s Digest: April 2026

In April 2026, we published the following articles:

• McCormick and Unilever agreed to merge McCormick with Unilever’s food business. The deal is worth $44.8 billion and will create a single $20 billion company.
• Tomato Paste Prices, April 2026: Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, Chile and USA.
• The 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a global food security crisis by paralyzing the three vital pillars of tomato production—energy, packaging, and agricultural inputs—leading to the most severe supply chain disruption in decades.
• Aran Group’s MonoFlex bag-in-box has been awarded a 2026 WorldStar Award by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO).
• Global Exports of Tomato Paste, updated April 8, 2026.
• Researchers at CRAG have discovered that tomato ripening is powered by the alternative oxidase (AOX) pathway, a specialized respiratory bypass that provides the massive metabolic energy required for ethylene-driven transformation.
• To kick off a series of analytical insights from a new Euromonitor International report on processed tomatoes, we start with the Executive Summary ahead of the full findings being presented at this June’s WPTC Congress in Monterey.
• Major industry associations are urging the European Commission to implement stronger trade protections to counter rising imports that threaten the Single Market by failing to meet the EU’s strict safety, environmental, and labor standards.
• The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has launched a Climate Resilience Strategy to safeguard the state’s dominant tomato processing industry by transforming the region into a global leader in climate-smart production despite rising environmental pressures.
• The 2026 grocery aisle has been radically transformed by a new wave of sauce innovations focused on cultural authenticity, restaurant quality, and sustainability, featuring everything from artisanal pastes to eco-friendly dehydrated solutions.
• Despite remaining the world’s leading exporter of canned tomatoes, Italy saw its first export decline in a decade in 2025, with ANICAV warning that geopolitical tensions and lower-standard competition are beginning to pressure the “Made in Italy” brand’s global market share.
• Analysis of Euromonitor data examining the global processed tomato market’s shift from organic expansion to strategic consolidation, evaluating market values and the evolving dynamics between mature and emerging markets from 2019 through 2030.
• Prices of Canned Tomatoes, April 2026: Italy, Spain, USA, Greece, Portugal.
• To protect a $1.6 billion industry, California tomato growers have adopted voluntary equipment cleaning guidelines developed by UC Davis to prevent the spread of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed whose resilient seeds threaten crop productivity.
• Starting January 20, 2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 of the European Commission officially prohibits the use of bisphenol A (BPA) and its salts in the manufacture of all food-contact materials, including the paints, coatings, and plastics used in food packaging across the Union market.
• La Doria Group has extended its partnership with agritech firm Evja for the 2026 season, utilizing high-tech solutions to balance the group’s record financial growth with its commitment to ethical and environmental sustainability.
• Global Imports of Tomato Products, updated April 23, 2026.
• Researchers from I2SysBio and the Phytolearning Millennium Nucleus have discovered that tomatoes operate through a sophisticated internal language of complex interaction networks, mapping how roots, leaves, and fruits communicate to coordinate growth and responses.
• Facing the second-lowest April snowpack on record, California farmers are navigating a meager 20% water allocation by adopting emerging irrigation technologies to manage the severe water scarcity impacting the state’s vital annual row crops.
• The 2026 processing tomato season is facing heightened uncertainty as the rapid depletion of California’s snowpack and a shift toward a potentially strong El Niño pattern introduce new variables for global production targets.
• Scheduled for October 27–30, 2026, in Parma, Cibus Tec 2026 will serve as a premier international platform to design the future of food processing, featuring technological innovations, strategic partnerships, and the dedicated Tomato News conference on Wednesday 28 October.
• As part of the inaugural H.A.R.V.E.S.T. AgTech cohort, UK-based SugaROx will conduct California field trials of its “single-molecule” biostimulant, which uses a proprietary “caged sugar” to act as a metabolic fuel gauge for plants.

You can find the individual articles in the NEWS list and/or search by keyword, date etc.