By Clint Thompson
Florida’s tomato season was challenged from the start. But considering growers were able to weather two hurricanes, they churned out a solid crop, said Robert Guenther, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange.
“We really had a horrible start to the season with two hurricanes coming through Florida. That really put us back. I would say by January we were back at more normal conditions; normal growing and harvesting conditions,” Guenther said. “We’ve had some weather patterns that have impacted the harvest and supplies. But over the last few weeks, we’ve been going gangbusters, in terms of good quality; really high quality product. That’s been very helpful for us as well.”
Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton impacted parts of the Southeast and most of Florida when they moved through the region last September and October, respectively.
“That first hurricane really hit the Panhandle and South Georgia really bad. The second one hit us really bad, between the Naples and Tampa area. We got a lot of wind and a lot of rain. A lot of it was structural, too,” Guenther said. “Fortunately, there were some that had not started planting yet in Homestead and Immokalee. But it took time for some plants to recover.”
Florida’s tomato crop has also been pitted against imports from Mexico which has compromised pricing.
“Harvesting is really good right now. There’s a lot of tomatoes on the market, with Mexico in peak season. There’s a lot of competition with domestic and imports from Mexico,” Guenther said. “Prices have not been as good for the growers as they were the last couple of years. But they still keep ticking along and being strong.”
Guenther estimates that Florida growers will finish harvesting this year’s crop by the middle of June.