Despite helpful factors such as favourable growing conditions and yields being at budgeted levels for the majority of UK growers, the supermarkets’ war on price is a cause for concern for those involved in the fresh tomato trade.
Nevertheless, the British Tomato Growers Association (TGA) says the UK’s producers and suppliers remain confident as the season gets underway, with the aim being to make the British tomato “as iconic as the British strawberry.”
Speaking about production and retail market conditions in the tomato category, Dr Phil Morley, technical officer at TGA, says: “Light levels in most parts of the country are ahead of the 10-year average for solar radiation, a key factor in an early start of the production of top-quality British tomatoes. “Yields are at budgeted levels for most growers, with some crops reporting early delay in production caused by periods of dull weather in early spring.
“As ever, tomato growers are optimistic that this will be a good season for growing. What is less certain is what will happen to prices as the multiple retail environment is under stress at the moment. Hopefully consumers as well as retailers will realise that British tomatoes are the best and favour those over lower-quality imported products.”
Volatile energy prices and labour costs are another cause for concern for those working in tomatoes, according to Morley, who has called for an equal “playing field” of government support for growers throughout the EU in order to ensure British producers are “not only competitive, but also sustainably profitable.”
Morley doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to describing British tomatoes: “British tomatoes are the best quality available anywhere in the world,” he says.
“A strong UK growing community is already looking to the future and planning, if not already implementing significant levels of investment in the UK.”
Self-sufficiency is around the 18 per cent mark in terms of volume, but 25 per cent in value as British growers focus on higher-quality, better-tasting tomato types.
Progress in the category will come through growers sharing best practice and collaborating though organisations such as the TGA, according to Morley, who adds: “Research and development will underpin a strong British future in tomato production.
“While we may never supply 100 per cent of those tomatoes consumed in the UK, there is an exciting possibility for growers to continue to expand their production in an environmentally and economically sustainable way.”
Keep an eye out for promotional activity during this year’s British Tomato Week, which runs from 18-24 May. The campaign scored coverage on primetime national TV and radio last year, and will look to build on that success this year.
Top six talking points in tomatoes:
1. LEDs/diffuse glass
2. New glass and infrastructure
3. British Tomato Week
4. Energy prices
5. Produce prices
6. Imports
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