Mutti against China: "imports damage the dignity of the Italian tomato"

Chinese imports damage the “dignity” of the Italian tomato. This was stated by Francesco Mutti, CEO of the company of the same name that produces ingredients including tomato puree, pulp and preserves, in a post on X and reported by the Financial Times. The manager therefore urged Brussels to protect farmers from the “unfair” competition represented by low cost pasta produced in the Xinjiang region of China and to restore the “dignity” of the Italian red fruit. In his opinion, however safeguard Italian farmers An EU ban or imposition of high tariffs on imports of Chinese products is necessary. Back in 2021, the United States banned the import of tomato paste from Xinjiang but Brussels did not follow suit.

“We should block the import of tomato paste from China or add a 60% tax on it, so that its cost is not so different from that of Italian products,” Mutti told the Financial Times.

The manager warned that the Italian tomato industry risks being undermined by tomato paste produced by Chinese state-owned enterprises in Xinjiang, where the United Nations commissioner for human rights documented widespread rights violations against the local Muslim Uighur minority, including forced labor. Beijing has denied the allegations, reiterating that reports of forced labor in Xinjiang are “a lie” used by some countries, including the United States, to weaken China and suppress the development of Chinese industries.
Mutti also criticizes Brussels for forcing farmers to adhere to strict sustainability rules without protecting them from “environmental dumping” of China. “We need to teach our farmers to farm better, but we also need to protect them from unfair competition,” he said.

“Otherwise the end result will not be to improve the environment, but to move our production abroad, where the environment is not protected.” The World Processing Tomato Council estimates that China will account for nearly 23% of global tomato production this year, up from about 18% in 2023. Italy is the world’s third-largest tomato producer after the United States and China .