Thousands of tons of tomatoes start being picked
Doubling of production planned
The tomato harvest is on and over 400 farmers are handpicking the produce, ripened by the warm summer sun, on 1,600 tumoli of land across Malta and Gozo for the Magro Brothers Group of Companies.
"Malta is one of the few remaining countries in Europe where tomatoes are handpicked, as opposed to mechanically harvested. This allows the farmer to make a better selection and inspect every tomato individually," company managing director John Magro said in an interview.
The industry processes over Lm1 million worth of tomatoes every season and Magro Brothers takes up around Lm700,000 worth of the fresh produce.
Every day, the picked tomatoes are delivered straight to company's plant in Xewkija and processed within 24 hours into the delicious kunserva, tomato pulp or into canned tomatoes.
Every December the company supplies farmers with seeds of the highest quality which are free from genetically modified organisms.
Given the proper weather conditions and the farmer's dedication, it can take between 90 to 120 days for the seeds to start producing mature, good quality tomatoes - the seedlings are planted in March and April, with the harvest starting towards the beginning of July and ending in September.
Last year the entire tomato industry yielded over 10,000 tons of tomatoes, with Magro Brothers taking over 65 per cent of the produce.
Mr Magro said the company was this year increasing its purchase of locally grown tomatoes by 25 per cent as part of an EU reform - the Special Market Policy Programme for Maltese Agriculture - which was negotiated into the accession treaty.
The EU and the government are providing farmers with financial and technical assistance to increase the produce and in turn become more competitive.
"It has been estimated that we can more than double our production and reach a yield of 27,000 tons of tomatoes every season. The SMPPMA calculates that we can reach this target within seven to 10 years," Mr Magro said.
Once the target is reached Magro Brothers can substitute part of the tomato concentrate product it imports with the local produce.
"The Maltese tomato has a taste unequalled by others," he said.
At the moment the 27,000-square metre factory complex in Xewkija is a hive of activity as truck-loads of tomatoes reach the factory every day to be processed.
The tomatoes are packed in cans which have a special white coating to prevent the product being affected by the tin.