The current tomato campaign in Extremadura, started at the end of July and expected to close around mid-September, is developing normally, with a high-quality fruit and no incidents in the transport among the more than 100,000 trucks that move through the community from the farms to the processing plants.
For this exercise, it is estimated that a total of 2.6 million tons of tomato will be processed in Spain, of which around 1.8 million will correspond to Extremadura. From that amount, approximately one million tons will come from the factories of the Conesa group, including the one located in the Badajoz town of Villafranco del Guadiana, which was visited this Tuesday by the Government delegate, José Luis Quintana, to check on-site how the campaign is progressing.
During the tour of the facilities, Quintana was accompanied by the CEO of Grupo Conesa, Manuel Vázquez. This company has received aid exceeding 3.3 million euros from the Agro-Food Perte and the Decarbonization Perte promoted by the Government of Spain.
Vázquez detailed that the collection of tomatoes for industry began on July 26 "on time and in form" after a spring with favorable weather conditions, so two weeks of activity have already accumulated and the peak of production is currently being experienced. To date, nearly 27% of the total contracting has been processed and the raw material is arriving "with good quality" after last year's difficulties due to the rains.
"This year the tomato comes with very good color, it has ripened correctly, and for now, everything is going with some normality," Vázquez emphasized, who added that it will be necessary to wait for the medium and late harvests, which "have surely been affected by the different heat waves we have had during the months of June, July, and even August."
The person in charge of Conesa also indicated that some early plots have been harmed by a phytosanitary problem, after the European Union banned a product used against a thrips pest, which has caused it to be "very complicated to combat this pest" in certain farms.
The Conesa Group has 11 production centers, of which two are located outside the Iberian Peninsula: a plant in the United States dedicated to the production of tomato powder and another in China specialized in tomato paste. The rest are nine factories in the peninsula, with two facilities in Portugal and seven in Spain, five of them in Extremadura and two others in the province of Seville.
About 80% of the volume processed by the company is destined for export to Europe, with main markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands, while approximately 8% of the revenue comes from Japan.
Commitment to decarbonization and climate challenges
Regarding the medium and long-term strategy, the tomato industries in the European Union are integrated into the MTS (Mission Trade System), which requires them to bear the cost of their CO2 emissions. In this context, the Conesa Group has made "a very strong commitment to decarbonization" and has accessed various Perte to finance investments aimed at reducing its carbon footprint in the plants.
Currently, the group has three first transformation industries and another dedicated to second and further transformations. It is a family-owned company that, as highlighted by the Government delegate, has managed to evolve with market demands and take advantage of technological advances.
During the meeting, the consequences of heat waves, which are becoming increasingly common, were also addressed, which forces, in the words of the delegate, that "we need to start working in search of new varieties that are more resistant to heat."
Safe transport and strategic sector for Extremadura
In relation to logistics from the farms to the canning factories, Quintana recalled that more than 100,000 vehicles travel the roads of Extremadura during the tomato campaign. As he indicated, "we have improved a lot in recent years, reducing on one hand the loss of products on the roads, preventing liquid from spilling on our roads and ensuring that the tires are in the appropriate conditions," and he announced that no accidents have been recorded so far this campaign.
"This is a job for everyone and of course the factories, which are the ones that really pay for the transportation, have made an effort over the last few years, because this is a benefit for everyone, not only for the rest of us who travel by road but an absolutely benefit for everyone," the delegate has emphasized.
With all this, Quintana has highlighted that the tomato sector "is key" for the economy of Extremadura and has valued the trajectory of Grupo Conesa, which he has defined as a European benchmark in the sector. "I believe it is a true example," he has stated, after touring the plant, analyzing with its managers the challenges faced by the activity and thanking them "for the effort they have been making for so many decades."