Rising Gas Prices May Shift French Consumers to Moroccan Tomatoes

The war in Ukraine is having repercussions on French tomatoes. In France, about 95% of the tomatoes produced come from off-ground cultivation dependent on gas. These tomatoes indeed grow in greenhouses heated by gas, reports L’Indépendant. The price of the latter is currently experiencing a sharp increase due to the war in Ukraine. "The price has long been between 15 and 30 euros per megawatt hour. At the end of 2021, we were at an average of 80 euros, which was already difficult. In February, with the conflict, it went up to 220 euros, i.e. 10 times the price," explains Christophe Rousse, president of Salareen, a cooperative of Breton tomato producers, to the newspaper Le Figaro.

Faced with this situation, some producers have decided to delay plantings and start harvests earlier by lowering the greenhouse temperature, while others prefer to plant only half the plants or throw away some, reports TF1. How to make a profit? It is up to the producers to double the price per kilo of their tomatoes in order to make a profit. The only problem: French consumers could prefer Moroccan and Spanish tomatoes - less expensive - to French tomatoes.