Argentine tomato producers are closely monitoring a dispute unfolding between their Italian counterparts and Chinese imports, triggered by allegations of fraudulent labeling practices. Italian authorities recently discovered pasta sauce entering the country labeled as “100% Italian” despite originating in China, undergoing final processing and packaging in Italy.
The issue reached a critical point in recent weeks with the discovery of mislabeled products, prompting investigations into the origin and processing of tomato-based goods. According to reports, the fraudulent practice involves importing tomato paste from China, completing the manufacturing process in Italy, and then marketing the final product as entirely Italian-made.
Fernando Patinella, a provincial deputy from San Juan, Argentina, stated that tomatoes from his province benefit from a certification of origin system, ensuring traceability both domestically and for export. “The San Juan tomato, having a system of certification of origin, has traceability both in the domestic market and for export,” Patinella told LA NACION. He emphasized that the Italian producers’ concerns are not necessarily with imports themselves, but with the misrepresentation of foreign products as locally produced.
Argentina’s San Juan province implemented a certification of origin system in 2023, managed through the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa) registry (Renspa). This system generates an Electronic Plant Transit Document (DTV-e) to guarantee traceability for both internal consumption and export, with Paraguay and Bolivia as primary export destinations.
The situation in Europe is escalating beyond the Italy-China dispute. At the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin, industry representatives launched the campaign “We tomato Europe, don’t betray UE tomato” to oppose the ratification of amendments to the EU-Morocco agreement. The campaign aims to protect the competitiveness and food safety standards of European tomato growers, as imports from Morocco have surpassed Spain as the leading supplier to the European market since 2022.
In Argentina, increased imports of tomato paste from China, alongside finished products from Italian brands, and fresh tomatoes from Chile, have impacted the local market. While the cultivated area in San Juan has decreased, Patinella attributes this more to a lack of destination markets and effective provincial management following Argentina’s trade liberalization than to the direct effect of imports.
The 2025/26 season presents a challenging outlook for Argentine tomato growers. Guillermo San Martín, coordinator of the Asociación Tomate 2000, reports that rising imports of tomato paste and a high tax burden are negatively affecting the industry. The price of imported pasta sets a ceiling for the price of domestic raw materials. The cultivated area has decreased from approximately 6,000 hectares in the previous campaign to around 4,000 hectares nationwide, with the Asociación Tomate 2000 program accounting for roughly 3,200 hectares distributed among San Juan, Mendoza, and La Rioja.
Patinella added, “We are at a national level in a system of economic and industrial reconfiguration. It is to be expected that provincial governments encourage exports and manage the opening of recent markets, all of which ultimately motivates local investments, which have been seriously deteriorated by years of market closures.”
