The Cretan tomato season has been experiencing a prolonged period of low prices. "For a month now, the producer price for local beef tomatoes of the first quality category has been fluctuating between 0,40 and 0,50 euros/kg. Mini plum tomatoes have also dropped to 1,60–1,70 euros/kg, while cherry tomato prices are about 0.40 euros/kg cheaper than that," says Mr. Yorgos Xalkias from the Cretan agricultural cooperative of Koudoura.
As he mentions, it is the strong competition from tomatoes of other origins that creates such price pressure. "There are still massive imports of much cheaper Turkish tomatoes in the Greek Central Markets, as well as in the Balkan countries and Germany. As for mini plum and cherry tomatoes, there are products of Italian origin that create challenging marketing conditions," says the Greek farmer.
Cretan tomatoes are struggling to be sold, and much of the harvested fruit remains unsold. Mr. Xalkias says: "The sales pace is low. For this reason, producers try to delay tomato harvesting and pick only the tomatoes that have properly ripened and are fully red. Fortunately, in recent days, the weather in Crete has been cold enough to somewhat limit the yield of the plantations. There is no alternative. People here wait as long as possible before harvesting. It is preferable to leave tomatoes waiting on the plant rather than have them soften while waiting in the packing facilities."
In the coming days, the weather is expected to change, with temperatures rising. This will create new challenges for Cretan tomato producers, as they will have to deal with the increased threat of Tuta absoluta. "At the moment, the cold weather slows down the spread of Tuta absoluta. However, now is the time to take measures against it. If we don't apply the necessary treatments now, it will be too late when the weather warms up. However, quite a few producers find it difficult to afford the cost of these treatments when they are paid such low prices and are skeptical about whether it is worth applying them. Tomato is turning into an unprofitable crop," Mr. Xalkias concludes.
For more information:
Yorgos Xalkias
OP Koudoura
Mob: +30 698 323 4314