List of countries by tomato production

[chancethegardener]

I am not sure if this was posted before but here's a list of countries by their tomato production in 2008, in tonnes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ato_production. I wonder what percentage of the production belongs to hybrids.

[deerhunter]

wheres canada.

[frdlturner]

Canada is # 23 on list

[deerhunter]

my dumb. went right by it.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by chancethegardener

I am not sure if this was posted before but here's a list of countries by their tomato production in 2008, in tonnes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ato_production. I wonder what percentage of the production belongs to hybrids.

Good stuff. Thanks for this thought provoking post.
-Marsha

[ddsack]

How odd, I never would have guessed China as first! Guess because I've never eaten Chinese food with visible tomatoes in it.
I wonder if they mainly grow for production and canning of sauce, or as export of raw eating tomatoes.

[Cole_Robbie]

I haven't had Chinese food with tomatoes, either, but the all-you-can-eat buffet food that we Americans call 'Chinese' is far too rich to be eaten by the majority of Chinese people. There's not that much General Tsao chicken in the world. I would guess that they grow so many tomatoes as a cheap way to flavor the otherwise bland, rice-based vegetarian diet that is all most Chinese can afford. Their cooking and use of vegetables is some of the most innovative, but it's a tradition born of necessity, which is feeding a huge population with scarce resources.

[chancethegardener]

For Turkey, tomato is a staple for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, I know that tomato paste is No.1 commercial product made out of tomatoes in Turkey. I wish they also listed import/export in tonnes.

[ContainerTed]

Here's the list in order of production without the stats for the dialup folks.

People's Republic of China
United States
Turkey
India
Egypt
Italy
Iran
Spain
Brazil
Mexico
Russia
Uzbekistan
Nigeria
Ukraine
Greece
Morocco
Chile
Tunisia
Syria
Portugal
Romania
Algeria
Canada
Japan
Syria
Netherlands
France
Poland
Argentina
Indonesia
Jordan
Cuba
Kenya
Kazakhstan
Pakistan
Colombia
Saudi Arabia
Azerbaijan
Sudan
South Africa
Israel
Cameroon
South Korea
Guatemala
Turkmenistan
Lebanon
Australia
Armenia
Belarus
Thailand

[chancethegardener]

I have found more interesting tomato statistics about Turkey and Europe.

1) Over the last 25 years, tomato consumption increased by 250%.
2) In 2005, tomato consumption per person was 212 gr(=0.47 lb)/day (3rd most among all). This was 332 gr(=0.73 lb)/day for Greece (first place in the list). Second place in the list belongs to Egypt.
3) In Europe, 60% of tomatoes sold is consumed by people over 45.

By the way, agricultural incentive merely exists in Turkey (thanks to our current government ). So, I was surprised to see that she holds the third place.
Reference is in Turkish but here it is: http://www.drt.com.tr/Haber.aspx?id=529

[kilroyscarnival]

I am assuming that only accounts for commercial production. How would they measure the amount grown by home gardeners?

[chancethegardener]

Originally Posted by kilroyscarnival

I am assuming that only accounts for commercial production. How would they measure the amount grown by home gardeners?

Actually this is addressed in the article. It says that "3.5 million families are farming in Turkey and probably all these families are also growing tomatoes in their backyards so the production rates are most probably underestimated." On top of that there are hobby gardeners, too.

Interesting! I grew up with two Chinese families straight from China. They spoke no English. I ate in their homes more often than in my home. I can't remember ever seeing any kind of tomato product in their homes. They received regular shipments of Chinese delicacies from China in large wooden crates. Plenty of dried lizard skins and other great foods, but no tomatoes in any form.

Considering the high tomato production in China, I'm curious how many tomato products we consume in the USA that originate in China. I also wonder why Mexico is
so low on the list when so many grocery store tomatoes originate in Mexico.

Ted

[chancethegardener]

Probably a major portion of the Chinese tomatoes is processed worldwide for products such as tomato paste, ketchup, and tomato soup. I am just guessing that it is a small chance we have access to fresh Chinese tomatoes in grocery stores here in the US.

If you frequent any of those "dollar" stores like Family Dollar or Dollar General, they have a good selection of canned, off brand, vegetable products. I was surprised to see how many were from China. I seem to remember some condensed tomato sauce at "Big Lots' from China. It always concerns me because I don't think they have anyone monitoring the products when they are processed in China for export. Some products like pine nuts are shipped in bulk from China and packaged for retail sales by companies in the United States. If you look at the labels, they will say something like packaged in New Jersey without saying the bulk product was shipped from China. I wonder which pesticides banned in most of the world I may be eating if I eat Chinese products.

Ted