TOMATO MARKET DYNAMICS IN ROMANIA: INSIGHTS FROM 2018 TO 2023

Tomatoes (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) belong to the Solanaceae family and are widely cultivated worldwide due to economic and nutritional importance. The aim of the paper was to assess the trend on the tomato market in Romania during 2018-2023. Thus, some specific indicators were analyzed such as: cultivated area, average production, total production, average selling price, average annual consumption per inhabitant, average monthly consumption of tomatoes per person, quantities of tomatoes bought by a household. It studied the evolution of foreign trade as well. The results have shown that during the period studied, the average production per hectare, decreased by 23% and the area cultivated with tomatoes having also the same trend, decreased by approximately 16%. Also, during this period, an increasing consumption trend was observed, but the highest growth rate was registered for the price, from 3.09 lei/kg in 2018 to 4.86 lei/kg in 2022.