28
The industrial tomato supply chain in
Brazil generates revenue of approximately
R$ 3.2 billion a year. The size of the national
crop of this segment is estimated at 1.2 mil-
lion tons, from about 22 thousand hectares.
This result ranks Brazil as eighth biggest pro-
ducer in the world, with a global crop that
amounts to 40 million tons. According to
data from Brazilian Association of Processed
Tomato (Abratop), the Brazilian industry ab-
sorbs 65% of the crop for sauces; 31% for
catchup; 8% for pulps and 6% for extracts.
Currently, per capita consumption of
processed tomatoes in Brazil remains below
6 kilograms a year. Abratop president Anto-
nio Carlos Tadiotti comments that the rate
is low compared to other countries around
theworld. InTunisia, for example, consump-
tion per person reaches 76 kilograms a year,
while in the Arab Emirates it is 52 kilograms.
Other countries on the list of big consum-
ers include the United States, with 31 kilo-
grams; Switzerland and Belgium, with 28 ki-
lograms each; and Spain, with 26 kilograms
per capita. “The people in these countries
are well aware of the health benefits derived
from the fruit’s lycopene ingredient, an an-
tioxidant that fights the free radicals, wards
off cancer, and it is mostly concentrated in
tomato sauce”, he clarifies.
At Brazilian level, there are about 28
tomato processing companies, of which 5
are responsible for 80% of the amount pro-
cessed. According to the Abratop official,
these companies, jointly with other links of
the supply chain, contribute socially with
the economy especially through the cre-
ation of jobs for thousands of people, either
direct or indirect ones. “Tomatoes will always
be grown because they are an integral part
of global habits. I believe there is no family
in Brazil with no tomato based salad on
the kitchen table, or families
that have relinquished
the Italian tradition in
their usual dishes en-
hanced with extremely
delicious tomato based
sauces”, he says.
Despite the histori-
cal legacy, the president of
Abratop points out that sev-
eral factors pose serious chal-
lenges to the production
of tomatoes, especial-
ly competition stem-
ming from commer-
cial crops, which
are gradually tak-
ing over areas
A consolidated
supply chain
With22thousandhectaresdevotedtothecropandannualrevenueofR$3.2
billion, theBrazilian industrialtomatosectorranksaseighth intheworld
devoted to tomatoes. Other factors include
the question of water, since 100% of the to-
mato fields require irrigation; phytosanitary
concerns like the strict legislation regard-
ing the appearance of field diseases; and
the lack of government support towards
this crop. “Not to mention excessive taxa-
tion and the lack of Best Agricultural Prac-
tices (BAP)”, he points out. “Abratop’s work
consists in promoting the union of the en-
tire supply chain in an attempt to advocate
and conquer improvements for
the sector”, he completes.
