Produce / Tomato & Pepper 64 n° 143 - May/June 2016 - EUROFRESH-DISTRIBUTION Consumer satisfaction key to increasing tomato consumption There’s an upward trend in tomato production world- wide, but the same can’t be said for per capita consumption of fresh produce A ccording to Philippe Binard of Freshfel, the European fresh produce association, daily consumption in Europe is below the World Health Organisation recom- mendation of 400 g per capita. In what Freshfel calls an alarming trend, per capita daily EU consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables has de- creased by 80 g – the equivalent of one piece of fruit – in the last decade. And in the tomato category, the same trend is seen. Over the period 2004-13, av- erage annual per capita consumption dropped 12 kg to sit at just above 9.5 kg – a decline of over 20% in 10 years. Yet at the same time, surveys show consumers overwhelmingly recognise that eating fruit and vegetables is one of the pillars of a healthy diet. (In a Eurobarometer poll, when asked what eating a healthy diet involves, 58% of respondents cited eating more fruit and vegetables.) Speaking at the international confer- ence ‘Tomatoes, trends towards 2020’ held in Antwerp in April, Binard said the many health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables – the produc- tion of which has a low impact on the environment – should therefore be emphasised more in communication with consumers. In that respect there also is pressure from NGO monitor- ing of pesticide issues but, “with a compliance rate of 99.1%, tomato production is extremely on the right track despite a negative image,” he said. Current trends, such as vegetari- anism, offer some opportunities in regards to increasing fresh produce consumption. The fact that more and more consumers are embracing a veg- etarian or vegan lifestyle will likely lead to a higher intake of fresh fruit and vegetables: “A good development for the fresh produce sector,” Binard said. Other consumers favour local, seasonal or organic products – all fac- tors that can be harnessed in the mar- keting of tomatoes. “We fail to know the consumer,” Binard said, yet they should be the central focus in this pro- cess. He believes other sectors have a better picture of who their customer is and how to cater to their needs. Ex- ternal support can make a difference. More EU funding is available and the co-financing from the EU is moving from 50% to 80%, an improvement Binard considers likely to motivate more projects from the sector. Tomato production growing faster than veggies overall The popularity of tomato cultiva- tion is increasing. Freshfel figures show production is growing very fast worldwide and has already reached over 130 million tons. Of the 44% rise in world vegetable production over 2000-13, nearly half of this derived from tomatoes. Tomatoes also com- mand a large share – 16% – of the fresh vegetable segment globally. Of the total global tomato production volume, about 88 million tons are destined for the fresh market and the remaining 42 million tons for pro- cessing. The top five global producers – China, the EU, India, the US and Tur- key – together account for about 70% of production. The average annual EU tomato production of over 16 million tons – of which 41% is fresh tomatoes and 59% is processed – delivers 12% of global production. Just five EU member states are re- sponsible for some 80% of EU tomato production: Spain, Italy, the Neth- erlands, France and Greece. While production has been rising in most EU countries since 2012 and overall European fresh tomato production is fairly steady, some countries have seen changes in terms of volume. In the past decade, production in Italy and Greece has declined, that of France has been more or less stable, and in the Netherlands and Spain, vol- umes increased over 2005-14. On av- erage, the ratio of fresh to processed tomatoes in the EU is about 40/60, but can vary widely within member states. For instance, the Netherlands and Belgium almost exclusively cater to the fresh tomato market, whereas in France and Spain the respective shares for the fresh market are 75% and 45% respectively. Major tomato grower Italy has a strong focus on the market for processed tomatoes, de- voting just 18% of its production to supplying fresh tomatoes. Exports under pressure, imports increasing The tomatoes grown in Europe are predominantly consumed and sold within Europe. In 2014, intra-EU trade in fresh tomatoes amounted to 2.6 million tons with a value of €3 billion, meaning an average price of €1.13/ kg. The top 5 EU destinations for fresh tomatoes are Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Spain, according to Freshfel. Last year, extra- EU exports of fresh tomatoes totalled 201,000 tons – worth €357 million – with an average price of €0.85/kg. Though exports to Belarus have par- tially replaced those to Russia, the im- pact of the Russian embargo has had a big impact on these exports, which have plunged 44% in volume in just two years after totalling 363,000 tons in 2013. The corresponding value fell from €435 million to €225 million, a decline of 48%. The top three non-EU markets for EU tomatoes are Belarus, Switzerland and Norway. More fresh tomato imports into the EU Imports show an upward trend, hav- ing climbed 145% in 15 years to reach 487,000 tons in 2015, at an average price of €1.18/ kg for a total value of €415 million. With a volume of 387,000 tons in 2015, Morocco is by far the EU’s larg- est fresh tomato supplier, having dou- bled its volume in the last decade. Next comes Turkey, which supplies around 50,000 tons to the EU. Up-and-coming import partners are African countries, such as Tunisia and Senegal, and new players from the Balkan region, such as Albania, Serbia and Macedonia. MW Internationalfreshimporttradeflow (2014-topmarketsinT) EUfreshtomatoesintraEU byMSdestination (year2014in000t)
Consumer satisfaction key to increasing tomato consumptionThere’s an upward trend in tomato production world-wide, but the same can’t be said for per capita consumption of fresh produce
According to Philippe Binard of Freshfel, the European fresh produce association, daily
consumption in Europe is below the World Health Organisation recom-mendation of 400 g per capita. In what Freshfel calls an alarming trend, per capita daily EU consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables has de-creased by 80 g – the equivalent of one piece of fruit – in the last decade. And in the tomato category, the same trend is seen. Over the period 2004-13, av-erage annual per capita consumption dropped 12 kg to sit at just above 9.5 kg – a decline of over 20% in 10 years. Yet at the same time, surveys show consumers overwhelmingly recognise that eating fruit and vegetables is one of the pillars of a healthy diet. (In a Eurobarometer poll, when asked what eating a healthy diet involves, 58% of respondents cited eating more fruit and vegetables.)Speaking at the international confer-ence ‘Tomatoes, trends towards 2020’ held in Antwerp in April, Binard said the many health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables – the produc-tion of which has a low impact on the environment – should therefore be emphasised more in communication with consumers. In that respect there also is pressure from NGO monitor-ing of pesticide issues but, “with a compliance rate of 99.1%, tomato production is extremely on the right track despite a negative image,” he said. Current trends, such as vegetari-anism, offer some opportunities in regards to increasing fresh produce consumption. The fact that more and more consumers are embracing a veg-etarian or vegan lifestyle will likely lead to a higher intake of fresh fruit and vegetables: “A good development for the fresh produce sector,” Binard said. Other consumers favour local, seasonal or organic products – all fac-tors that can be harnessed in the mar-keting of tomatoes. “We fail to know
the consumer,” Binard said, yet they should be the central focus in this pro-cess. He believes other sectors have a better picture of who their customer is and how to cater to their needs. Ex-ternal support can make a difference. More EU funding is available and the co-financing from the EU is moving from 50% to 80%, an improvement Binard considers likely to motivate more projects from the sector.
Tomato production growing faster than
veggies overall The popularity of tomato cultiva-tion is increasing. Freshfel figures show production is growing very fast worldwide and has already reached over 130 million tons. Of the 44% rise in world vegetable production over 2000-13, nearly half of this derived from tomatoes. Tomatoes also com-mand a large share – 16% – of the fresh vegetable segment globally. Of the total global tomato production volume, about 88 million tons are destined for the fresh market and the remaining 42 million tons for pro-cessing. The top five global producers – China, the EU, India, the US and Tur-key – together account for about 70% of production. The average annual EU tomato production of over 16 million tons – of which 41% is fresh tomatoes and 59% is processed – delivers 12% of global production.Just five EU member states are re-sponsible for some 80% of EU tomato production: Spain, Italy, the Neth-erlands, France and Greece. While production has been rising in most EU countries since 2012 and overall European fresh tomato production is fairly steady, some countries have seen changes in terms of volume. In the past decade, production in Italy and Greece has declined, that of France has been more or less stable, and in the Netherlands and Spain, vol-umes increased over 2005-14. On av-erage, the ratio of fresh to processed tomatoes in the EU is about 40/60, but can vary widely within member states. For instance, the Netherlands and Belgium almost exclusively cater to the fresh tomato market, whereas in France and Spain the respective shares for the fresh market are 75% and 45% respectively. Major tomato grower Italy has a strong focus on the market for processed tomatoes, de-
voting just 18% of its production to supplying fresh tomatoes.
Exports under pressure, imports increasing
The tomatoes grown in Europe are predominantly consumed and sold within Europe. In 2014, intra-EU trade in fresh tomatoes amounted to 2.6 million tons with a value of €3 billion, meaning an average price of €1.13/kg. The top 5 EU destinations for fresh tomatoes are Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Spain, according to Freshfel. Last year, extra-EU exports of fresh tomatoes totalled 201,000 tons – worth €357 million – with an average price of €0.85/kg. Though exports to Belarus have par-tially replaced those to Russia, the im-pact of the Russian embargo has had a big impact on these exports, which have plunged 44% in volume in just two years after totalling 363,000 tons
in 2013. The corresponding value fell from €435 million to €225 million, a decline of 48%. The top three non-EU markets for EU tomatoes are Belarus, Switzerland and Norway.
More fresh tomato imports into the EU
Imports show an upward trend, hav-ing climbed 145% in 15 years to reach 487,000 tons in 2015, at an average price of €1.18/ kg for a total value of €415 million.With a volume of 387,000 tons in 2015, Morocco is by far the EU’s larg-est fresh tomato supplier, having dou-bled its volume in the last decade. Next comes Turkey, which supplies around 50,000 tons to the EU. Up-and-coming import partners are African countries, such as Tunisia and Senegal, and new players from the Balkan region, such as Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.
Although the total acreage used for covered horticultural pro-duction in the Netherlands fell
13% in the past decade, from 10,540 ha in 2005 to 9,200 ha in 2015, for some products there was a spectacu-lar climb. The most impressive fig-ures are for strawberries. Whereas in 2005, there were 230 ha used for covered strawberry production, this steadily grew over the years to 280 ha in 2015, an increase of 48%. Moreo-ver, it probably still offers potential for the future since the growth figures include a 7% rise in 2014 and 10% last year. Production under glass is by far favoured over production under plastic. Strawberry production under glass saw a sharp rise in hectares in use to a total of 280 in 2015 (+75% since 2005), whereas the hectares used for production under plastic fell by 29 ha from 2005% to a total of 50 in 2015. However, the preference seems to shift a little since the figures for strawberry production under plas-tic show a turn in 2015 when a 25% increase of hectares was seen.
More vegetablesTotal production of vegetables has seen an increase of 7% since 2005 to a total of 4,750 ha in 2015, although it should be noted that the acreage has been falling since 2010 from 4,990 ha. Aubergine is one of the vegetable cat-egories on the rise. With a steady in-crease in hectares over the years, the product’s hectares used rose from 90 in 2005 to 110 in 2015, meaning 22% growth. Tomatoes are doing fairly well, too. Whereas covered tomatoes were produced on 1,400 ha in 2005, this came to 1,750 ha in 2015 (+25%). Specifically, grape and cherry toma-toes are in demand. Grape tomatoes
saw an increase in hectares from 940 in 2005 to 1,260 in 2013 and have been steady ever since. For cherry tomatoes, the acreage grew by 63% over the last decade to a total of 130 ha in 2015. In 2015, grape tomatoes were produced on 13% less acreage than in 2014. Sweet peppers show a mixed picture. The total acreage fell 6% from 2005 to a total of 1,160 ha in 2015. Yellow and green peppers show a steady decrease, whereas red peppers picked up in 2015 again after years of decline. The red pepper acre-age grew by 3% in 2015 compared to 2014. The category other peppers is on the rise as well, tying in with reports from breeders that there is increased demand for sweet pointed peppers. Cucumbers are definitely coming to a slowdown with a drop in acreage of 14% over the past decade, and flowers and plants with a fall of 30% since 2005.
�� MW
Eminent’s Tomberry successful“The Tomberry is a success in Dutch retail and we are now going to roll out the variety globally,” said Jan van Heijningen, director of Eminent Food, one of Europe’s largest suppliers and producers of exclusive greenhouse vegetables. The Tomberry is a pearl tomato with an average size of 1 cm. The mini tomato is known for its many culinary uses and because of its size there is no need to cut it. Through breeding and selection, Eminent has made the Tomberry suitable for growing in the Netherlands and saw the tomato being adopted by the culinary elite first and later via the catering industry and retail, too. Eminent’s market approach with the Tomberry is very chain-oriented. The va-riety is produced under license only. Eminent has a broad range of specialities in which peppers have a firm base as well. “It is a growing market with increa-sing interest from supermarkets for coloured pepper mixes,” Van Heijningen said. Eminent is particularly known for its Tinkerbell mini peppers. This is a mini block pepper that is perfectly suited for stuffing. Another success is Sweet Bite, a baby pointed pepper in various colours— yellow, orange, red and brown—which makes an ideal healthy snack. Another area of attention is the chilli pepper. Eminent has selected a range of chillies and improved them so that they now are strong enough to be produced in greenhouses year-round. “There is a reasonable market for chilli peppers, for both the fresh product and seeds, and that’s growing every year,” Van Heijningen said. The Habanero chilli pepper, one of Eminent’s leading chilli varieties, is suitable for experienced users due to its high capsaicin content and early, high yield.
Join the international trade fair for horticulture technology including crop optimizationGreenTech is the global meeting place for all professionals involved in horticulture technology
More information: www.greentech.nl
Explore the best horticulture technologies worldwide Discover a world of innovation and new products Meet cutting edge greenhouse builders and suppliers Watch the latest trends on crop optimization Be inspired by four sustainable themes:
Water - Energy - Biobased - Crops Gain a years’ worth of knowledge in one visit Expand your network in the horticulture world Visit the exciting city of Amsterdam
The genes of innovation and added value At Fruit Logistica, innovative factors are always out in force and the breeders play their part in contributing novelties
Enjoya is one of the most talked-about innovations introduced by Enza since 2015 to expand its sweet pepper colour range. This unique two-tone type is block-shaped and has red and yellow streaks. The breeder is offer-
ing a ‘brand’ of several varieties to cover different growing niches. This type of
capsicum is already being grown in Holland and Spain. Enjoya was submitted by the Dutch company Terra Natura and came third in the 2016 Fruit Logistica Innovation Award. Enza has a variety + packaging concept that revolves around Safra, a flavourful yellow tomato presented on the vine in a cardboard box. The firm was also presenting EasyQS as a novelty in the cucumber range. With its smaller size and crunchier flesh, it fits in with the snack universe. These new products join the specific segmented sector already defined for Tubelli and Cor-nelia sweet peppers and Tom Azur tomatoes in the quest for added value.
Veggie sticks in convenient packaging at Bejo Bejo’s stand at Fruit Logistica focused on six concepts around the theme ‘Taste, Health and Convenience’: Coolwrap, Delicioni (fresh onion), Kohrispy (kohlrabi sticks), Cool Carrot Candy (snack carrots), Veggie corner and organic seed. After good results in the Netherlands, Coolwrap (a flat cabbage suited to various uses e.g. wraps) will be introduced in Denmark and Sweden over the course of this year. Delicioni is a crispy, juicy onion which was introduced in Southern Europe two years ago and will be extended to more European markets this year. Snacking is a key food trend which Bejo wants to dive into with its tasty, sweet Kohlrabi sticks (of the new variety Konan), a product already well-known in Germany, and its snack carrots, known as Cool Carrot Candy, which are already in the Dutch retail market through Albert Heijn. Bejo’s approach is to offer all the new convenient concepts to producers so they can improve sales to retailers in their own countries, in some cases with the aid of taste consumer panels. In line with the convenience trend, Bejo´s Veggie corner offers a range of vegetables to make consumers’ lives easier and healthier. Along with carrots and Kohlrabi, The Veggie corner also contains Krunchelly celery sticks.
This year is yellow: the new fashion at Gautier Gautier is seeing yellow this year in a number of small-fruited tomatoes. Within this colour, the breeder also wants to achieve the eating quality expected in the cherry tomato segment. The C88 vine cherry tomato is presented as the yellow counterpart of Picolo, a red cherry tomato variety known for its taste. C90 brings yel-low to the plum cherry tomato range, while DJ129, avai-lable for trials, is a yellow vine tomato variety. Another trend at Gautier is to duplicate Marmande (Marbonne) or ox heart (Cauralina) type cultivars in varieties that are better suited to high-tech, soil-free greenhouse produc-
tion, such as DC115 (Mar-mande type) and DCC108 (ox heart type). “This evolution allows us to po-sition ourselves in new markets, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States,” said Eric Barneron, head of marketing for that area.
Ateneo, Drago and Normando: Fitó Semillas’ new stars The Catalan seed company’s innovations are concentrating on the Mediterranean market, particularly for the Almeria area. Ateneo is a large vine tomato with a long growing cycle and good agricultural properties. The fruit keeps well and can be harves-ted loose or on the vine. In cucumbers, Drago is a new Dutch-type variety for unheated greenhouse growing, while Normando is a quick-growing spiny cucumber for early and summer harvesting. Fitó also provided a reminder of its leading position in aubergines
with a highly diversified range revolving around its leading Cristal variety, as well as its strong position and major bree-ding programs in all types of melons.
De Ruiter multiplies small fruitDe Ruiter is diversifying its small-fruited tomato segment with coloured cherry tomatoes, vine cœur de pigeon and plum tomatoes and a ribbed cherry tomato that resembles a strawberry. These varieties, which are all still at the numbers stage, will be available for heated greenhouse crops. They will reinforce the Sicilian market launch of Cikito, a cherry plum tomato, and respond to the demand for the small-fruited tomato range to expand to-wards eating quality.
Knox lettuces, 10 years of research at Rijk Zwaan With the genetics of Knox, Rijk Zwaan has brought the lettuce sector a new innovation. Ten years’ breeding work has enabled the seed company to introduce a butterhead lettuce gene that reduces pinking (also known as oxidation) when the lettuce is cut. Ten or so varieties of different types (romaine, batavia, oakleaf, Salanova) are currently available and are being trialled by growers and ready-cut product processors. The breeder wants to expand Knox to all its range, particularly to varieties for the fresh market, putting an end to rusty stems!
Fall in love with tomatoes again!Discover me at www.tomatomonterosa.com
Celery and parsnip the seeds to Tozer’s successTozer Seeds has long been a European market leader in celery and parsnip varietal development and now this British vegetable breeding company is looking for new markets in which to introduce these crops. And after last year’s successful launch of the Flower Sprout – a small green and purple sprout with curly leaves – throughout Europe, particularly in the UK and Scandinavian markets, the firm is looking for new business opportunities in the US, Australia and New Zealand. “Sales are performing well – duplicating turnover each year – so this will be the year of the Flower Sprout,” UK sales director David Rogers said. To support the international expansion of this fresh product, Tozer Seeds is preparing a global campaign of Kalettes (the name for Flower Sprouts in the US), to be available in September.
Monterosa: the pink ribbed tomatoLaunched four years ago, the Monterosa tomato is produced exclusively today in Spain by Kopalmeria (Gavà Group) on an area of approximately 30 ha of green-houses dedicated to the variety. “It’s the only pink ribbed beef tomato and it has a balanced flavour reminiscent of the traditional taste of summer tomatoes, but with the advantage of also being grown in winter,” said Tom Lombaerts, Produce Chain Manager for Semillas Fitó. The variety is being introduced into different parts of Europe with sales in winter coming from Gavà, and in summer from exclusive producers according to the country. Saveol has opted for Monterosa in France, and White Salads has done so in the UK. “In other countries, we are still in the phase for closing deals with different partners,” Lombaerts said. Semillas Fitó began a multiple communications campaign to reach the end consumer, creating a brand and publi-cising the uniqueness of the variety via e-commerce, the internet and social networks (instagram: @tomatomonterosa) in which food stylist bloggers reveal the culinary uses and special recipes that involve the Monterosa tomato. More information about the variety and recipes for it are available at www.tomatomonterosa.com, where it is also possible to buy the tomatoes themselves or seeds to grow them.
Fall in love with tomatoes again!Discover me at www.tomatomonterosa.com
Med Hermes takes quality tomatoes onlineGenetic research, varietal selection and now the web as well: outstanding tomatoes are going online and it’s all thanks to Med Hermes. “Recently,” explained director general Alfredo Amoroso, “we introduced our premium range of fresh tomatoes as a symbol for taste and the rediscovery of Mediterranean taste traditions, and of the new communication system via the site www.tomatocult.com, to the European market following the fairs Fruit Attraction in Madrid in October 2015 and Fruit Logistica 2016 in Berlin. For us it is not only a mere communication system, but also a new way of understanding the product, with a highly innovative awareness of marketing to create online dialo-gues. Our primary aim is to use the Internet to raise awareness of the world of vegetable production during this first stage for Italian, Spanish and European consumers. The tomatocult.com blog project is highly innovative within Europe, aiming to increase the amount of information and communication exchanged between producers and consumers.” Value added to what is already the company’s strong point: selection and research. “Our research starts with the Mediterranean germplasm, and through years of selection of varietals we have succeeded in obtaining a product that is as good at the table as it is in the field, with an extremely low environmental impact. Like our premium line, made up of five varieties of tomatoes in a variety of segments: on-the-vine cherry tomatoes, Mediterranean rosa, cocktail and Perino type,” Amoroso said. These products are in high demand in international markets, in line with the recent preferences for taste and quality. “We are putting great focus on strengthening our presence in the production markets between Italy and Spain, as
well as looking towards the markets in Eastern and Northern Europe, starting with the quality of the products offered and backed up by genetic research, which is given its own special focus within the EMEA region,” Amoroso said.
Takii Seed Spain: new tomato varieties, Galia and broccoliTakii Seed has launched a new variety of loose vine tomato cal-led MOTTO F1. It has a calibre of 7 and a very uniform vine with 7-8 bright red tomatoes. This tomato is currently being grown in Spain and in countries bordering the Mediterranean. The aim is to export it to Central Europe, though thanks to its special conservation properties it is ideal for export to Scandinavia and the Middle East, both on the vine and loose.
Meridiem Seeds launches its pear tomato GranovalMeridiem Seeds, a Spanish vegetable seed company, launches its new pear tomato, Granoval. This variety is very versatile in terms of growing conditions and areas. The company has obtained good results in the greenhouses of Almeria, Malaga and Granada and also in outdoor growing areas. It is different due to its size, with a GG calibre, and its ease of fruit sprouting, but what makes it especially unique is that it is a very firm tomato, enabling it to be sold internationally.
HM.Clause presents the Saborini & Astuto cherry tomato HM.CLAUSE has launched two new varieties in the cherry tomato segment. These are the CLX37841 F1* (SABORINI) (an attractive, crunchy and tasty variety recommended for long cycles, with a calibre of 25-30 and a Brix high level); and the CLX37784 F1* (ASTUTE) variety (sui-table for harvesting on the vine and loose, with an intense red colour, high yield, good balance on the vine in winter, a high sugar content and great cracking resistance).
Nikomate by Hazera España Hazera España sells, distributes and promotes seeds in Spain and Portugal, and has launched a new variety of tomato called Nikomate. This is a fat, high calibre pear tomato with a long postharvest life. Jose Manuel Lopez Hernandez, area sales representative for Adra, Berja and Costa Tropical, enthuses: “It’s a new concept to encompass both the domes-tic and long distance export markets. We already have over 500,000 seeds reserved, so they are being successful.”
Akira Seeds: a wide range of tasty peppers
Today, Akira Seeds’ speciality is tasty, colourful peppers. Indeed, it is the only one on the market with a wide range of peppers of seven colours with different flavours. One quality of this range of pro-ducts is its resistance; it should be noted that 3 of the 7 peppers have L4 resis-tance. As regards the markets in Spain and Portugal, Jaime Urrios, director of sales and development, had this to say: “They are special products with their own niche markets, which are very different so we have to address them personally.”
Jose Manuel Lopez HernandezIsidro Lopez, Jaime Urrios, Norito Ebata
Rijk Zwaan has sensational innovationsRZ has surprises in all segments from soil cultivation, developing countries to organics, convenience and snacking segments
Rijk Zwaan has invested a lot in variety development lately for the Mediterranean soil type cul-
tivation areas such as found in Spain, Turkey, Africa and also Mexico. “Our focus for developing countries is to propose varieties for soil cultivation with a better yield, resistance and taste,” said Johan Vis, Rijk Zwaan’s head of marketing. He recalls the tre-mendous potential of the Asia region as the largest populated area in the world. “Africa will soon become the second most populated region; it has become a major target for us,” Vis said.
A world of sensationsAs for the greater value trends in de-veloped markets like Europe and the US, Rijk Zwaan continues to improve its portfolio in every segment such as organics, convenience, processing and snacking. “We are adding more sen-sational varieties to our portfolio of
snacking varieties, with more flavours, colours and old style combinations.” He sees these trends are already ap-pearing in the US market. Among new snack items by Rijk Zwaan there are very colourful tomatoes, pear-shaped oranges, orange blocky tomatoes and yellow mini plums. “Another major trend is the pink tomato segment, which is the major one in Eastern Eu-rope. RZ’s aim with pink tomatoes is for them to be sweet and juicy, with a specific taste and profile.” In the case of the orange colour segment, RZ to-mato varieties are being associated with lemonade and fruity taste. “We will continue to come up with new
red variety of sensational flavour, and the Ternetto, which is great tasting, highly productive, small and weighs around 15/20 g. The 72187 is also the new code for a pear-shaped tomato of remarkable flavour.
Snack mixes with cucum-bers too
Cucumbers and other salad veg-etables are not forgotten in RZ’s new trend of innovations. There are the new shorter and bi-colour snack cu-cumbers. “The mix of snack cucumber varieties is now a possibility, like the new white and green variety Quirk’” Vis said. Quinton is other innovation in the segment: a new light green cu-cumber, and also Quarto, a dark green snack variety.
Raymos RZ and Ramywin RZ: the new RZ vine
tomatoesRaymos RZ and Ramywin RZ are vine tomatoes, the former sold as an early tomato and the latter as a late variety. The company thus covers all the crop cycles and can have the product avail-able throughout the year.Fundamentally, the two varieties are characteristic for maintaining their calibre and quality all year round, with their deep red colour, good firm-ness and resistance to the leaf curl vi-rus and powdery mildew (Lt). Magal-lanes RZ is a loose tomato that keeps its quality and G calibre throughout the long cycle. Manuel Hernandez Fernandez, Rijk Zwaan Ibérica’s to-mato crop specialist, says: “Custom-ers are demanding more and more flavour and innovative products on the shelves that are easily distinguish-able.”
colours, shapes and sensa-tions in future.”
Internal red, the visible taste
In the bigger tomato size, of 60-160 grams, RZ is introducing more “in-ternal red” type varieties, with a nice deep red colour and good flavour, in order to be “visibly tasty”. In the sensational segment, Rijk Zwaan analyses and demonstrates the taste difference based on consumer tri-als carried out together with Wage-ningen University, using measured parameters. New concepts like Silk Pink and Florentina have been suc-cessfully introduced since last year. “Florentino has a marvellous taste, a plum shape and is nice looking, like a snack variety,” Vis said.Among other new introductions in the sensational segment are the 72245 variety code for an internal
La Unión: research and new designsAlhóndiga La Unión is one of the leading companies in the Spanish and European sector. This year it is conducting several research projects, such as Biovege and Decidrop, with which it intends to develop and improve the whole life cycle of agriculture. Furthermore, Alhóndiga La Unión has worked on phase 2 of the watermelon production line, an investment that will provide greater efficiency and speed. Of Alhóndiga La Unión’s total production, 65% is exported to European markets, the main destinations being Germany, France and Poland. The main products it exports are cucumbers, peppers and courgettes. The company’s goals are based on covering all varieties of product their customers demand and addressing the entire national production cycle.
Gavà Grup: success with the Monterosa varietyGavà Grup, a company specialising in growing, distributing and exporting fruit and vegetables together with the seed company Fito, teamed up for a major project that is seeing success around the world: the Monterosa tomato. This tomato is characteristic in filling one’s mouth with all the flavours of the Mediterranean winter garden tomato. It has established itself as the perfect product for export due to its characteristics: thin-skinned, voluptuous shape and a long life, in M, G, GG and GGG sizes. Currently, the Gavà Grup has 28 hectares planted with this product in the area of Cabo de Gata (Almería), which will change next year as they begin to have between 80 and 100 hectares of Monterosa tomato due to the success it is having on the market. “We have opted for the Monterosa because we are convinced it will revolutionise the winter tomato market where taste quality is a pending challenge,” said commercial director Francesc Llonch. Today, 50% of its Monterosa tomato production is distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, while the remaining 50% goes to Europe.
Coprohnjijar makes strong head-way with tested research The exemplary Almerian company for cherry tomato, launched in 1986, today continues to be a pioneering coopera-tive in the research and development of comprehensive farming techniques in production. For ten years, it has had 20 ha of its own land and 400 ha belon-ging to partners, with tomatoes and watermelons, located in southern Spain, Almería. Ten hectares of the twenty of self-owned land are used for cultivation in greenhouses and inside them there is a section dedicated to experimentation and testing of new varieties as well as the most innovative techniques for culti-vation. “The sales department analyses what type of tomato we need for our customers. Only then does the technical department select varieties offered to us by all the seed suppliers, and we try out what’s best,” said Coprohnjijar president Juan Segura.
Costa de Nijar seeking new flavours This Campo Hermoso cooperative is constantly looking for new varieties to get the best flavour and texture for its pro-ducts and offer a wider range to its customers. “We are now working hard with cherry tomatoes, looking for new varieties to find better flavours,” said manager Miguel López. This is because Costa de Nijar attempts to get the most out of its products in order to offer its customers excellent food. A large percentage of total production is exported to the wider European market, such as Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Holland, Austria, Poland and Denmark, with a smal-ler percentage going to the US, in addition to the domestic market (Spain).
