Morocco remains the first supplier of the European Union market with fresh tomatoes, confirming its competitive edge and strong strategic partnership sealed the European bloc.
In 2021, around 67% of EU fresh tomatoes imports were from Morocco (the largest source of imports), followed by Turkey which increased its share in the EU market (25% in 2021/+5 pp above 2020), says the European Commission in its latest short-term outlook for EU agricultural markets.
EU imports of fresh tomatoes (continuing upward trend) are expected to increase in 2022 by 3% to 730,000 t (23% above 5-year average), while EU exports of this product continue declining, following a 10-year trend, underlines the report.
In 2022, they are expected to drop to 330,000 t (-12%/2021) as a consequence of Brexit and gradual loss of the UK market (75% of EU fresh exports in 2021) due to increased competition from Morocco in particular.
In Jan-Mar, exports to UK dropped by 28% compared to the same period last year.
Due to high EU production in 2021, imports of processed tomatoes are lower in 2022 (-28% year-on-year, with the volume close to pre-pandemic average), while exports are expected to increase by 3%.
Lower imports are also partially explained by a lower production (and hence lower exports) in Ukraine where the production is expected to decline by 75% due to the conflict. A reversed trend is expected in 2023 given the lower EU production in 2022 and a production increase outside of the EU.
