Local field tomato deals across the country from regions such as Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are tapering off. "They are starting to wind down so you're getting smaller sizes of tomatoes and perhaps the fruit isn't as sharp as normal," says Roger Riehm of Blue Creek Produce
Meanwhile, the production in Mexico is underway. "We've had some rain in the Mexican growing areas over the last couple of weeks so the field tomato production has been maybe 25 percent less than normal for this time of year," says Riehm.
Overall, that's leaving supply slightly less than this time last year. Tomato demand however has been steady recently and it's likely to strengthen over the next few weeks.
Weather and pricing
As for pricing, while tomato pricing had been fairly stable, with the tighter supply, it could increase over the next several weeks. "We're in a weather-watching period for tomatoes. We always watch the weather but we really will more so over the next few weeks as the cooler nights and shorter days hit the local production. We're watching for frosts and more fall rains, all of which would increase demand for tomatoes from Mexico," says Riehm.
Further ahead, Florida tomato production will begin in November.
For more information:
Roger Riehm
Blue Creek Produce
Tel: +1 (630) 513-3075
[email protected]