Global tomato imports cost an estimated $9.24 billion USD in 2018, according to WTEx.
Countries in Europe bought the highest dollar worth of imported tomatoes during the last year with purchases valued at $5.8 billion or 63.1% of the global total tomato imports.
North American countries imported 30.4% of the global total while 5.9% of tomatoes imported worldwide were delivered to customers in Asian countries.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico, Africa (0.2%) and Oceania (0.05%).
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported tomatoes during 2018.
- United States: US$2.5 billion
- Germany: $1.5 billion (15.9%)
- France: $706.9 million (7.7%)
- United Kingdom: $699.9 million (7.6%)
- Russia: $629.8 million (6.8%)
- Netherlands: $322.3 million (3.5%)
- Canada: $322.1 million (3.5%)
- Poland: $238.8 million (2.6%)
- Sweden: $170.1 million (1.8%)
- Italy: $146 million (1.6%)
- Spain: $145.8 million (1.6%)
- Belarus: $116.6 million (1.3%)
- Czech Republic: $116.3 million (1.3%)
- Romania: $107.6 million (1.2%)
- Austria: $100.6 million (1.1%)
The above listed 15 countries purchased 84.2% of all tomatoes imports in 2018.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for tomatoes since 2014 were: Romania (up 87%), Spain (up 54.8%), Netherlands (up 21.1%) and United States (up 21%).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Turkmenistan’s tomato greenhouse sector has been demonstrating the steady growth during the recent years. Turkmen private companies have introduced hydroponic greenhouses into their production with highly efficient technologies that allow growing tomatoes without using soil and with reduced water consumption. Entrepreneurs in Turkmenistan have started to actively export tomatoes to neighboring countries.
Currently, top buyers of the Turkmen tomatoes include Kazakhstan, Russia, UAE, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. According to the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan, Turkmen tomato exports increased by 58% in 2018 compared with 2017.
