Although production has more or less halved in the last 10 years, from October to April the Canary Islands continue to be a valuable source of round tomatoes to the UK marketplace. The main growing region is Gran Canaria, but production has increased in Fuerteventura as well as in the St Nicholas area, where the region’s climate is ideal for the production of good-quality, round tomatoes.
“Volumes have decreased over time, but the Canary Islands is well-placed for the cultivation of round tomatoes that offer a lot of flavour,” says Hernan Cortes, director of family-run Canary Islands grower Cortes Ltd, which has been bringing tomatoes into the UK since 1952. “We have managed to maintain our UK market share for the last couple of years and the UK market is very cost-effective for us, because of the small subsidies that come from the mainland Spanish government and the vessel that now goes directly from the Canary Islands to the UK.”
Now two-thirds of the way through the season, Cortes Ltd, which sends around 4.8 million kilos of round tomatoes from the Canary Islands to UK supermarkets and catering companies each season, says that quality has been acceptable, although rain at the beginning of the season caused some short-term quality issues and hotter weather than usual meant smaller-than-average sizes of fruit. “In truth, good growers come up with good quality,” says Cortes. “It has been mixed, as some growers struggle to get the right quality.”
There were high hopes for the quality of this season ahead of the Canary Islands tomato campaign back in October, but the level of rainfall has meant that quality has remained similar to last year.
“Overall, this year there have been more problems with rain in the Canary Islands, which has caused issues with dampness and mildew,” says Brian Hibberd, managing director of UK importer Abbey View Produce Ltd, which supplies supermarkets with Canary Islands round tomatoes. “The market has received a range of different quality tomatoes from the Canaries, with prices at 700p for dark red, firm fruit and 300p for what I call balls of water, which just aren’t suitable for everybody.”
Cortes agrees. “There was not so much rain last year and the extra rainfall has taken its toll this season,” he adds. “It was colder last season. Plants have produced heavily at the start, so there was a lot of fruit about. We are due less fruit in the second part of the season, so we will see relatively small volumes on the market for the next three months.”
Due to high temperatures at the end of the summer in 2009, other tomato-producing countries such as Spain and Morocco will experience the same effect. Once spring hits the UK, the industry hopes that demand will improve and bring decent prices. “The dire weather in the UK over the winter period really dampened demand - you try selling fresh tomatoes when it’s snowing,” says Cortes. “It is not the weather to eat tomatoes and it has been tough -it can only get better. It is still raining a bit at the moment, but we are due some decent quality for spring, unless some unusual weather pattern arises.
“Availability suits demand in the UK and the situation was pretty well balanced this season from December. Prices have not been brilliant, but in a way that bodes well for March and April, when the weather will have improved in the UK.”
Hibberd says that Christmas was a difficult time for the Canary Islands tomato industry; the pre-Christmas rush caused a post-Christmas lull in demand. “The boats from the Canary Islands usually arrive on a Sunday and a Wednesday, but this Christmas the boat had to come a day earlier because of the way the holidays fell, which meant that growers had one day less to pick the required volume,” he explains. “The demand in UK supermarkets for tomatoes was substantially higher - sometimes double the average - and then, because consumers were buying too much, there was less demand after Christmas.”
However, the first week of February brought bad news as massive downpours hit the Canary Islands, and floods caused havoc on the roads and in the fields. Schools across the island were closed and the government’s emergency Level II plans had to be put into operation. “Some crops will be damaged, but we haven’t seen the impact yet,” says Hibberd. “Some areas will be protected as they will be higher up in the valleys, but most of the Canary Islands’ production is grown under very fine netting and the water will get through. Too much water, plus the normal irrigation and fertiliser drip, will mean that product will suffer from softness at the very least. Already, reefers are leaving the Canary Islands with tomato containers half full.”
Nevertheless, the industry is upbeat and importer Victoria Trading’s general manager Andrew Zerpa-Falcon believes that the weather has not disrupted the season drastically. “The weather has not been a major issue and temperatures have been normal and very stable,” he says. “We did have some heavy rain at the beginning of week five that caused some localised issues in terms of staff getting into the packhouses. However, this was counteracted by our delaying the departure of the sailing of 3 February by a few hours, enabling us to pack a further 400-500 pallets to maintain proper availability.”
Victoria Trading’s parent company, Bonny (VT), is proactive in generating renewable energy and creating a more sustainable future for the Canary Islands tomato industry. The company has recently installed its fourth 0.85 megawatt wind turbine at its La Florida packhouse in Gran Canaria. This will supplement the existing 3,000sqm of solar electric panels in powering the round and vine tomato packing lines.
However, the predicament that remains for the Canary Islands tomato sector is that as long as yields continue to be low, returns are going to suffer. According to sources, UK supermarkets are paying a reasonable price for produce, but because the volume is not available to send, the rate of return does not allow for any increase in profit. “Years have gone by and production costs have substantially increased,” says Cortes. “You can get a good price for good fruit on the open market, but it is the supermarkets that will take your whole crop -although the crop will be just above cost, leaving very little margin.
“Also, the supermarkets get the best and the rest goes onto the open market and does not get a very good price. The best situation is that if there is less fruit on the market, then the price will be stronger. If the volume declines, the market will correct itself regarding prices and hopefully the price will reflect the risk involved. This is a business that involves a good deal of money -if you do not receive the right returns, it is not viable.”
Zerpa-Falcon believes that UK supermarkets are supporting the Canary Islands tomato season. “For the most part, prices have been correctly aligned with the general market supply and demand situation,” he says. “All the UK supermarkets seem to understand the importance of the stable Canary Islands climate in ensuring good quality and availability, particularly in January, February and March.”
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