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Market Profile for Tomatoes in Trinidad & Tobago European Union Common Fund for Commodities and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute Project Increased Production of Vegetables and Herbs through the use of Protected Agriculture in the Caribbean (Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago) (CFC/FIGTF/26) [Publication HQ/018/13]

Written by Aziz Mohammed-Market Facilitator June 2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0: Why Market Profiles 2.0: Introduction 3.0: Production 4.0: Market Structure 5.0: Wholesale Market 5.1: Volumes 5.2: Prices 6.0 Retail Prices 7.0: Purchases by Type of Outlets 8.0: Exports 9.0: Imports 10.0: Market Access 10.1:Local Market 10.2: Export Markets 10.2.1: CARICOM 10.2.1: Other Markets 11.0: Outlook for PA grown Tomatoes

1 1 1 3 4 4 5 6 7 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10

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1.0 Why Market Profiles These market profiles are designed to provide information to farmers, producer groups, traders, trainers, government agencies, financial institutions, associations and other stakeholders involved in Protected Agriculture (PA) for better decision making. The profiles were developed from secondary data sourced from the Central Statistical Office, the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO), the National Agricultural Marketing Information System (NAMIS), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the European Union Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) Protected Agriculture Project Market Study 2011 and the UN International Trade Centre. 2.0 Introduction Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the major crops grown in Trinidad and Tobago. Tomato production is geared primarily toward supplying the local market. The crop is grown more intensively in the dry season in concentrated pockets of production. The main production areas are Tortuga and Gasparillo in south Trinidad (NAMDEVCO Survey 2009). The average area cultivated by an individual farmer is about 0.5 ha. While most of the tomatoes are grown under open-field agriculture (OFA), over the last few years there has been some production under PA systems. 3.0 Production The cultivation of tomatoes has fluctuated over the period 2006-2010. There was a peak of 315 ha in 2007, followed by a decline over the next two years and then an increase in 2010 (Figure 1). Figure 1. Land (ha) under tomato cultivation 2006 – 2010. 350 315

300 250

246

205

200 ha

248

240

150 100 50 0 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: Central Office Statistical Office-Agricultural Report 2006-2010

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In 2007, 4,890 tonnes of tomatoes were produced in the country but since then output has fallen by 59 %. Production in 2010 was 2,150 tonnes (Figure 2). Figure 2. Tomato production (tonnes) in Trinidad and Tobago 2006 – 2010. 6 5

4.89

4 Tonnes 3 x 1000 2

2.15

1.80

1.90

2.00

1 0 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: Central Office Statistical Office-Agricultural Report 2006-2010 Tomato is grown on varying farm sizes, from small plots of less of about than 5,000 sq. ft to commercial operations of 1.25 - 2 ha. The most popular variety of tomato grown in the country was Hybrid 61 as shown in the trade at the NAMDEVCO Wholesale Market (NWM) in 2012 (Figure 3). Figure 3. Volumes (tonnes) of tomato traded by variety at the NWM in 2012.

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The peak production periods are in the early part of the year from January to March and then from July to September. Figure 4 shows the volumes of tomato traded at NWM in 2012. Figure 4. Monthly volumes (tonnes) traded at NWM in 2012.

4.0 Market Structure The majority of local production and some imports were sold via the main market in the country, the NWM. Over the last 5 years, over 50% of the local tomatoes have been sold via this wholesale market. Apart from the wholesale market, producers sell to middlemen, retailers who operate at the public markets and road side stalls, as well as to supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. Figure 5 shows the various marketing channels in the country for fresh produce.

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Figure 5. Marketing channels for local tomatoes.

Producers

Roadside market

Local market

Wholesaler

Wholesale market

Marketing Association

Packinghouse Wholesaler FOOD SERVICE (Hotels, restaurants,

Retailer

Retail markets

(Public markets,

(Hotels, restaurants, supermarkets)

roadside

CONSUMERS 5.0 Wholesale Market 5.1 Volumes The annual average volume of tomatoes traded over the period 2006-2012 at the main market, the NWM was 1.6 Mn kg (1 Mn kg = 1,000 t) (Table 1).

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Table 1. Volumes (Mn kg) traded at NWM 2008-2012 Size Small Medium Large Total Source: NAMIS

2008 312,645 759,230 673,898 1,433,128

2009 364,187 980,565 955,348 2,300,100

2010 334,333 720,451 667,726 1,722,510

2011 283,779 604,253 546,485 1,434,517

2012 268,147 587,870 203,986 1,090,003

The monthly trade data shown in Table 2 shows that the volumes are at their highest in the 1st and 3rd quarters of the year. Table 2. Monthly volumes (kg) of tomatoes traded at the NWM in 2012. Type Small Medium Large Total

Jan 19,200 43,296 46,993 109,489

Feb 27,148 68,093 63,471 158,712

Mar 33,479 73,839 79,337 186,655

Apr 15,198 24,717 25,241 65,155

May 19,811 40,270 40,191 100,272

June 12,347 30,545 34,687 77,579

Type July Small 25,485 Medium 56,154 Large 78,281 Total 159,921 Source: NAMIS

Aug 21,707 68,592 73,186 163,485

Sept 26,414 71,313 64,752 162,480

Oct 23,390 47,398 29,477 100,265

Nov 24,875 35,625 29,503 90,002

Dec 19,092 28,026 23,775 70,893

5.2 Wholesale prices Since 2009, wholesale prices for all sizes of tomatoes have increased by about 30% (Table 3). Table 3. Wholesale prices (TT$/kg) at NWM 2008-2012. Size Small Medium Large Imported Source: NAMIS

2008 10.26 12.80 14.51 17.64

2009 9.01 11.11 13.36 16.70

2010 11.62 14.50 17.74 19.29

2011 12.08 14.84 17.62 17.22

2012 11.75 14.55 17.56 17.34

During 2012, prices were at their highest levels at the beginning and end of the year. The lowest prices were during the dry season, February to April, when there was an expansion of the acreage grown and production increased (Figure 6).

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Figure 6. Monthly wholesale prices (TT$/kg) at NWM in 2012. 30.00 25.00 20.00

Small Medium

15.00

Large Imported

10.00 5.00 0.00 $/kg

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Source: NAMIS 6.0 Retail prices The two main varieties of tomatoes grown in the country are Heat Master and Hybrid 61. At the supermarkets, the average price of the Heat Master variety over the last 5 years has been close to $32/kg, while for Hybrid 61, the average price has been around $26/kg. At the Municipal markets, the average prices for these two varieties have been $21 and $19/kg respectively (Figures7 and 8). Figure 7. Supermarket prices by varieties 2008-2012

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Figure 8. Municipal market prices by varieties 2008-2012.

7.0 Purchases by type of outlet The CARDI/CFC protected agriculture market study undertaken in 2011 identified restaurants as the main purchasers of sliced tomatoes, while supermarkets bought mainly cooking type tomatoes. The fast food outlets, Subway and Marios, were the largest buyers of imported tomatoes (Table 4). Together these outlets bought approximately 2 Mn kg of tomatoes annually. Of this amount, 64 % was slicing tomatoes, approximately 1.3 Mn kg. Amongst the supermarkets, Hi Lo Food Stores which has the largest chain of supermarkets in the country purchased 4,098 kg of tomatoes weekly, followed by Southern Basket chain with 3,500 kg weekly (Figure 9). Subway was the largest buyer in the restaurant category with weekly purchases of 19,091 kg (Figure 10). Table 4. Annual purchases (kg) of tomatoes by supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and Tobago. Product Type

Supermarkets

Restaurants

Hotels

Tobago

Slicing 93,860 1,101,568 34,268 25,428 Cooking 528,528 39,260 9,424 Imported 110,760 Total 733,148 1,101,568 74,528 34,852 Source: CARDI/CFC Protected Agriculture Project Market Study 2011

Total 1,255,124 577,252 110,760 1,943,136

% of total demand 64 30 6 100

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Figure 9. Weekly tomato demand by supermarkets.

Source: CARDI/CFC Protected Agriculture Project Market Study 2011 Figure 10. Weekly tomato purchases by restaurants.

Source: CARDI/CFC Protected Agriculture Project Market Study 2011 Weekly purchases (kg) of tomatoes by supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and Tobago are shown in Figure 11. Purchases by other types of consumers and markets are not shown in the diagram since they were not part of the survey. 8

Figure 11. Weekly demand for tomato by type of buyer. Hotels, 4%

Tobago; 2%

Supermarkets, 38%

Restaurants, 56%

Source: CARDI/CFC Protected Agriculture Project Market Study 2011 8.0 Exports Over the period 2006-2010 exports of tomatoes doubled from 237 t to 493 t (Table 5). The main export market was Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago has an Agricultural Trade Protocol with Barbados which allows for exports to the latter, provided the product comes from farms certified by the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO). The total value of exports in 2010 was TT$2.281 Mn. Table 5. Exports of tomatoes from Trinidad & Tobago 2006-2010 2006

2007

2008 2009 Quantity (t)/Value (TT$ Mn) 237 1.745 179 1.304 293 2.243 322 2.079 Source: UN International Trade Centre

2010 493

2.281

9.0 Imports The data on imports (Table 6) shows annual increases from 2006. Imports increased from 218 t in 2006 to 389 t in 2009 and then spiked in 2010 to 955 t. This was a reflection of increasing demand, especially with the trend towards eating out and the growth in fast food outlets which use a large quantity of imported produce. There is an opportunity for production under protected agriculture to replace imports providing it can provide consistency in supplies.

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Table 6. Imports of tomatoes by Trinidad & Tobago 2006-2010. 2006

2007

2008 2009 Quantity (T)/Value (TT$ Mn) 218 1.39 509 2.98 436 3.15 389 3.45 Source: UN International Trade Centre

2010 955

5.53

10.0 Market Access 10.1 Local Market Supplies from extra-regional sources are subject to an import duty of 40%. Imports from within CARICOM are free of duties; however, they are subject to phytosanitary and other measures as stipulated by the Agricultural Trade Protocols in place and the Plant Quarantine regulations. 10.2 Export Markets 10.2.1 CARICOM The export of tomatoes to CARICOM countries are subject to meeting the entry requirements of the respective countries. Currently Trinidad has Agricultural Trade Protocols with Barbados, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda which regulates the trade in agricultural produce between these countries. The Protocol with Antigua and Barbuda has not operated for a number of years because of a suspension by that country due to the outbreak of Black Sigatoka disease in Trinidad. Tomato can only be exported to these countries providing it comes from farms certified and monitored by the NAMDEVCO. 10.2.2 Other Markets There have been no recorded exports of tomatoes to other countries including the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom. 11.0 Outlook for PA Grown Tomato There is potential for PA grown tomato within the local market and for export to our neighbour, Barbados. Fast food outlet, Subway, has a weekly requirement of approximately 19,000 kg of tomatoes, practically all of which is sourced from the U.S.A. (this country imports around 1,000 t of tomatoes annually, some of which could be replaced by PA production). Supermarkets provide another market segment; together, Hi Lo Food Stores, Southern Food Basket, Pricesmart and Tru Valu have a weekly requirement of approximately 1,000 kg. Another niche market to be explored is online sales. The feasibility of selling a packaged, branded product to the retail outlets and online should be explored. A coordinated approach to production and marketing by the growers in conjunction with their Association will certainly enable them to exploit the market opportunities. 10