By Clint Thompson
The prolonged period of decreased prices for Florida tomatoes may be nearing an end. Growers should be encouraged by an uptick in prices in recent weeks.
Michael Schadler, manager of the Florida Tomato Committee and executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, describes the change in momentum that has shifted in producers’ favor.
“A month ago, things were bad. We had a pretty suppressed market there from a good stretch of the winter, starting in January through February and into the first half of March. It was pretty bleak. There were too many tomatoes and not enough demand,” Schadler said. “Things have started to turn around a little bit, thankfully. We’re seeing import volume moderate a little bit out of Mexico. Our own production has come down a little bit. Pricing is starting to rebound.
“We’re looking at this week in fully loaded on a truck, pricing at $15 to $17. Just a few weeks ago we were looking at prices, fully loaded at $8 to $10. Back to the grower, that’s down around $5. You can’t survive long on that. We’re happy to see prices have rebounded here. Things are starting to look a little bit better. We hope that continues through the spring and into the summer.”
Encouraging signs of market price increases for Florida tomatoes are just what producers are wanting to see. Amid the high input era that all farmers are currently combating, tomato growers can ill-afford prices at low levels.
“We’re getting it from both ends. We’re getting depressed demand, but like everyone in the farming business and most industries in general these days, it’s a tough operating environment. You’ve got really high costs. You’ve got inflation across the board. Whether it’s fertilizer costs or chemicals, the costs to buy your box to put your tomatoes in or the pallet to carry the tomatoes, diesel to run your trucks and tractors in the field, it’s really tough. We’re no exception,” Schadler said.
“What I can say is this season tomatoes have not contributed to food inflation cost. That’s good for the consumer. That’s one item they shouldn’t be seeing going up in price. But that’s made it tough on us.”