Squeeze on tomatoes could hit ketchup prices

beans, ketchup and pasta sauce could all become more expensive after bad weather hit tomato crops.

An unseasonable cold snap in May followed by heatwaves over the summer disrupted the growing season in Italy.

Meanwhile poor weather and industry turmoil in California and China – two of the world’s biggest tomato producers – could also affect supplies, experts warn.

Cristina Nanni, an analyst at IHS Markit Agribusiness Intelligence, said: ‘All the main tomato-related products are expected to increase in price. However it is up to retailers to decide how to pass this to customers.’

Northern Italy is believed to have produced 18 per cent less than ordered by customers, with early forecasts estimating the country processed around 2.4million tons of tomatoes this year. And preBAKED liminary figures from the World Processing Tomato Council put this year’s global production at 37.2million tons.

Miss Nanni said: ‘California has harvested 10 per cent less than last year and 6 per cent less than the last three years’ average. If figures from China are confirmed, the country is also below its historical average due to industrial restructuring that started in 2018.

‘Those three processors account for more than half of the global production of tomato for processing.’ Miss Nanni added that price rises could be particularly bad for baked beans.

This is because the cost of haricot beans has already increased following the introduction of European import duties on US products last year.

She added: ‘The strengthening of the dollar and the higher cost of tomato paste and sugar have all contributed to an increase in production costs for baked beans.’