The new tomato season has now officially begun in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Turkey with the planting of the tender tomato plants in the fields. There have been delays in some areas. The challenge is that if the seedlings grow too big, they can no longer be planted in the fields because their size makes them too unstable and they can no longer develop a sufficiently strong root system in the soil. The specific situation in the different growing regions is as follows:
Due to the unstable weather, relatively low temperatures and a lot of rain, the tomato plants in northern Italy could only be planted late. However, our local partner is optimistic that these delays can be made up for in the next few days. The outlook for water is equally positive - at least in northern Italy, it does not appear to be a limiting factor this year either. The situation is different in southern Italy, where reserves are already alarmingly low. Due to the lack of water, the areas under cultivation there have already been reduced (we reported in the Food News 3/2025). The planting of the tomato plants, on the other hand, is going wonderfully according to plan.
Our partner in Spain and Portugal reported the longest delays. At the time of our interview on 15 May, these figures were known in the Spanish region of Extremadura, for example: In the Vega Alta area, around 60 to 70 per cent of the planned plants had been planted, in Vega Baja just 15 to 20 per cent. For both areas in this region, the planting rates are normally already around 80 to 90 per cent at this point. We received similar figures from Portugal: Here, a maximum of one third of the planned plants are in the ground so far. According to the regular schedule, the planting rate here should also be around 80 per cent. "It will not be possible for the growers to completely make up for these delays," says our contact. It is likely that some of the plants will not be able to be planted. More specific information and figures will be available at the end of the month.
Finally, let's take a look at Turkey: here too, planting is two weeks behind schedule due to the weather and will continue until the beginning of June. In addition, some growers have decided to plant tomatoes relatively late, as the profit prospects were initially discussed as uncertain. According to our partner's initial estimates, the harvest volume could therefore be around 10 per cent lower than usual.
What does this mean for the 2025 tomato season? One thing is clear: the harvest will start later than usual in many places - and will depend on all the climatic challenges that are possible in September and October. With our Food News we will of course keep you up to date at all times.
