The current production capacity of tomato industry in China has reached the advanced level in the world. With the gradual improvement of industry concentration, the advantages of leading enterprises such as Tunhe and Xinzhongji become more and more prominent.

Liang Zhongkang made the above remarks at the Beijing Forum of the World Tomato Processing Federation's China Trip held yesterday.

Rapid expansion of processing capacity

Data show that since 2001, China's tomato processing capacity showed a rapid growth trend, 4.3 million tons in 2006, this year is expected to reach 5.3 million tons, is expected to reach 7 million tons in 2011.

It is believed that domestic tomato processing enterprises already have a considerable scale in production capacity and should not have a large investment in the next 3-5 years. However, a prominent problem at present is that there is an obvious contrast between the supply of raw materials and the processing capacity of equipment. Enterprises should work more on raw materials to match the supply of raw materials with the processing capacity of equipment.

In the face of this situation, domestic tomato processing enterprises will pay more and more attention to the investment of tomato seed research and development and the improvement of planting technology. With the continuous expansion of the scale, the advantages of leading industrialized enterprises will be more obvious, industry concentration will be further improved.

According to data from the China Canning Association, there are 67 tomato paste manufacturers in China, with a daily capacity of 130,000 tons. There are 40 factories in Xinjiang, 8 factories in Gansu and 19 enterprises in Hetao, Inner Mongolia.

The tomato paste processing and exporting enterprises in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Gansu have been formed in China, which are mainly composed of Tunhe, Xinzhongji, Fuyuan Industry of Bayan Nur, Xinjiang Tianye and so on.

Insufficient supply of raw materials

Louis Qinserd, chairman of the World Tomato Processing Association (WPTC), said at the forum that China's tomato industry is increasingly influential in the world. The main purpose of this trip is to understand the production and consumption of the Chinese tomato industry and promote orderly competition in the global tomato industry.

The index of color difference and viscosity of tomato sauce in China has reached the advanced level of similar products in the world. In addition, the relatively low manufacturing cost has constructed the international competitiveness of China's tomato industry.

In 2005, China exported 601 thousand tons of tomato paste and exports amounted to US $300 million. In 2006, the export of tomato paste reached a new high, with 629,800 tons of tomato paste exported, amounting to 356 million US dollars. The export volume and amount increased by 4.74% and 18.83% respectively. The products are mainly exported to Russia, Garner, Japan, Italy and the Middle East.

The manufacturing cost advantage of tomato industry in China is very obvious. At present, the average purchasing price of tomato raw materials in China is 35 US dollars / ton, about half of that in Europe and America. In addition to factory construction and management, labor costs, the actual cost is far lower than the European and American countries and the world average. At the same time, the quality of tomato paste in China is high, the content of lycopene is higher than that of similar products, and the products with good quality and reasonable price are incomparable to any other country. Taking the production of 36% - 38% tomato sauce as an example, the cost per ton of tomato sauce in China is about 150 US dollars lower than the world average cost, which has obvious advantages.

From 1999 to 2005, China's export share of tomato paste rose from 7.7% to 30% of the world's export market, while other producers showed a downward trend.

Although the export of tomato industry is growing rapidly, with the increase and expansion of processing and production capacity in Xinjiang and other major production areas, the shortage of raw material supply and the decline of raw material quality are gradually revealed.

In addition to the weather, the use of soil, varieties, pesticides and field management, transportation and acquisition of management links have a crucial impact on raw material production and quality.

Due to the single and continuous planting of the main varieties, the dominant characteristics of the conventional varieties declined year by year, and the field performance defects increased. In addition, in the management of raw materials, the scattered cultivation of raw materials, small per capita land ownership by growers, backward cultivation techniques and concepts, do not attach importance to crop rotation, so that the unit yield decreased, disease increased. Planting, picking and selling behavior of some growers can not be done according to the requirements of enterprises, which directly affects the quality of tomato raw materials.