By Clint Thompson
Normally, tomato producers can point the blame for suppressed market prices to rising imports, especially those arriving from Mexico. That is not the case this year, however.
Florida farmers can only blame themselves for an oversupply of produce that has led to low prices, according to Bob Spencer, president of West Coast Tomato in Palmetto, Florida.
“This time we’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror. We created this situation, and hopefully, we’ll get through it eventually and the prices will adjust upward,” Spencer said.
He said current prices for tomatoes are an estimated $5 to $7 FOB (freight on board) compared to desired prices of $9 to $11. It stems from increased acreage, not from imports that have long been a thorn in the side of Florida growers.
Mexico’s U.S. market share in tomatoes was 66% in 2020, compared to 28% for Florida. Mexican imports of tomatoes increased from $1.5 billion in 2012 to $2.38 billion in 2020; a margin of 51%. Its average sales were $1.9 billion, compared to Florida’s annual sales of $387 million.
There has been a 52% decline of Florida tomato production from 2002 to 2019. Mexican imports of tomatoes expanded by 152% from 2005 to 2020.
The lack of tomato imports this year directly relates to the high fuel and diesel expenses. The costs to transport produce are extremely high, in the case of imports, prohibitively so.
“(Imports) haven’t been as much as in the past. It’s strictly because of fuel prices. It’s extremely costly to get them from Mexico to the northeast. There’s not as much being brought up there just because of the cost of transportation and just finding the transportation to get them there,” Spencer said. “There’s not as much transportation out there, obviously as they’re used to be. There’s a lot more competition for it. (The problem) really hasn’t been the imports. Usually, we can blame them.”