Regardless of other factors, such as foreign competition or the profitability of the produce, Spain is one of the countries where most research is performed.
The reign of the tomato is backed by revealing figures, because most of the experts affirm that Europeans’ favourite tomato is the cherry (pear and round), a curious piece of information because in theory the most widely marketed variety tends to be between 5 and 6 cm in diameter and cherries usually measure between 1 and 2 cm. Likewise, the countries that eat most of these tomatoes are England and Germany, which currently absorb between 10 and 30% of the European consumption of this produce. And it seems that this trend might continue, because according to David Bodas, Food Chain Manager at Syngenta, the growth in some countries such as Germany could reach 50% of the total tomato consumption over the next few years.
Spain’s role in the European tomato court is changing. As tradition states, we continue to be one of the main producers, but our country has taken the qualitative leap and has entered the list of countries that invest most in research and development of varieties. A challenge that is welcomed and that requires a great deal of time because, as tomato-improver Anabel Hidalgo states, “on average, the development and research of a snack tomato until it is launched on the market takes 10 years and involves 10,000 crosses of different varieties.”
Therefore, Europe wants tomatoes; the English and the Germans seem to have the greatest affinity with the produce and the Spaniards, who are lagging behind at the end of other innovation lists, are turning into the most patient developers of tomato varieties. On this point however, as with everything, it is not enough to obtain a good standard because the entire food chain must be satisfied. The industry wants a good tomato, but it also wants a sellable tomato. For this reason, when developing a new variety, researchers seek a tomato that exceeds those already existing in flavour, colour, texture, shelf life, productivity, disease resistance, stress tolerance and safety. According to Pablo García from Syngenta, “in order to find out whether a tomato has a suitable flavour, at least four basic parameters need to be measured; juiciness, brix degrees, sugar content such as glucose and fructose and organic acid content, such as citric acid and malic acid”.
