The Kumato is a trade name given to the variety of tomato developed in Spain called "Olmeca", which went by experimental number SX 387. It is grown in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Canada and Mexico by specially selected growers. The Kumato is a standard size variety of tomato weighing between 80 and 120 grams. It is a green to reddish brown, and sweeter than typical tomatoes due to a higher fructose

Fructose

Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple monosaccharide found in many plants. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Fructose was discovered by French chemist Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847...

 content.. Kumatoes have a longer shelf life than typical tomatoes . Kumato type tomatoes are considered gourmet tomatoes .

Unlike other tomato varieties, seeds cannot be purchased by the general public. Syngenta

Syngenta

Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...

 has stated that they will never make Kumato seeds available to the general public as the Kumato tomato is grown under a concept known as a club variety, whereby Syngenta sells seeds only to licensed growers that go through a rigorous selection process, and participation is by invitation only. Syngenta maintains ownership of the variety throughout the entire value chain from breeding to marketing, whereby selected growers must agree to follow specified cultivation protocols, and in addition pay a flat license fee per acre of greenhouse, the cost of the seed, in addition to royalties

Royalties

Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...

 based on the volume of tomatoes produced. Typically Syngenta licenses only one large vertically integrated greenhouse producer per country that has well established relationships with grocery chains.

The introduction of Kumato into the marketplace has spurred the interest of both consumers and plant breeders alike. Dulcinea

Dulcinea

"Dulcinea del Toboso" is a fictional character who is referred to in Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. Seeking the traditions of the knights-errant of old, Don Quixote finds a true love whom he calls Dulcinea. She is a simple peasant in his home town, but Quixote imagines her to be the most...

has through a similar growing club concept introduced the Rosso Bruno tomato, and Black Velvet from California Hybrids through the work of Dr. Kanti Rawal marking the first competitor to Kumato available to the general public.

That said, anyone can retrieve seeds from a Kumato and grow plants for private use.