Smaller producers are also diligently cultivating plants, but their tomatoes will hit the until some time later, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Thursday.

Only Polish tomatoes were available at the Pärnu market when AK visited. A spokesperson for one of Estonia's largest tomato growers, Võiste aiand, which is based in Pärnu County, said that spring has not been favorable for tomatoes.

Mirko Metsaoru, board member at Võiste, said: "This spring has been very overcast and chilly. Tomatoes should already be appearing by now, but due to the poor light, we estimate that the ripening process will be delayed by at least a fortnight."

Võiste aiand has currently 14,000 tomato plants under cultivation, and will soon be selling three varieties.

Despite the weather conditions the company aims for an early harvest, facilitated primarily by plants pre-grown in specialized greenhouses in Finland.

"We prepare our soils much earlier. It's challenging to compete here, and so far, the competitive advantage has been that we have started harvesting earlier," Metsaoru said.

Tomatoes grown direct from seeds by smaller producers will reach the market later.

Tomato grower Ants Must, in the village of Võiste itself, said: "There's been so little sun, and it's cold, so there's no photosynthesis going on with the plants.

"This year it's hard to say [when the tomatoes will be ready], perhaps at the end of May / beginning of June, but no earlier," he went on.

Must grows about 900 tomato plants and mainly sells the tomatoes at a market in Tallinn. However, Kollikse Farm, which sells vegetables at the Pärnu market, has not yet moved tomato plants into the greenhouse.

"Usually, the plants are put in the greenhouse around the May holidays, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depending on the weather, of course," Must added.

"If the temperature is right, then the first tomatoes would be around after Midsummer Day," Roland Liesment, owner of Kollikse farm, also in Pärnu County, told AK.

Large and small producers alike share a common concern about cheaper imported tomatoes, however.

On this challenge, Metsaoru said: "They are imported in mass quantities, which allows for lower prices, which makes it very difficult for us to compete given our own costs."

Must said: "Polish tomatoes are cheaper, but my production costs are so high that I can't compete. I end up paying on top of things, so it's almost like a hobby."

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