National tomato shortage spurred by western rains

LOS ANGELES -- A nationwide tomato shortage brought on by Florida's rash of hurricanes and a nagging pest in Mexico is being made worse by a bruised and rotting harvest in California.

Two to three inches of rain have brought picking to a standstill for more than a week, dropping production by nearly 40 percent for the normally busy October. The month is a crossover one for the nation's top two tomato producers, with California dominating the market June through October and Florida vice versa.

Florida's hurricanes delayed planting, essentially ensuring a shortage. The situation was exacerbated when Mexico, another major source of tomatoes, was hit with a pest outbreak that ruined up to 40 percent of production in the Baja region.

In California, moisture along with lower temperatures wiped out about 1,500 acres in the central and southern parts of the state, said Ed Beckman of the California Tomato Commission. About 33,000 acres were harvested last year.

"That's a huge investment that growers are never going to get back," said Beckman, who leads the commission overseeing the state's $375 million tomato industry.

For consumers, the news isn't good either. At the supermarket, prices are nearly double -- up to $3 a pound -- for conventionally grown hothouse and Romas, and it could take more than a month for a drop until the harvest picks up in wind- and water-damaged Florida.

The retail prices, though, reflect sky-high wholesale prices for those farmers lucky enough to still have a crop.

At the Giumarra farm in northern San Diego County, for example, a 20-pound box of vine ripe tomatoes has been going for $26. That's four times more than last year's average price of $6.

"The rain up to now hasn't been bad for us because we're enjoying the better prices," said sales manager Jim Ukegawa.

The high prices drove workers at one rain-soaked farm out into muddy fields to salvage produce.

All the precipitation "made some tomatoes rot or become too soft, but it's still worthwhile to go for them" because of the high prices, said David Cook, sales manager for Deardorff-Jackson farm in Oxnard.

"It's not often that prices are above the cost of production, so when this comes along, you have to take advantage of it," he said.

Beckman, however, warned of price gouging by middlemen. He said he's heard of distributors demanding $40 for a box of Roma tomatoes that would otherwise sell for $20.

"It's unfortunate, and the real shortage is still two or three weeks away," he said. "It's getting tight but I think the worst is yet to come."

The shortage has forced one fast-food chain to change its national advertising campaign.

Ohio-based Wendy's had planned to promote a line of chicken sandwiches topped with a tomato slice but will now advertise other products instead.

"We didn't want to highlight a great-looking chicken sandwich with a tomato on it if we couldn't deliver," said Bob Bertini, a spokesman for the company.

Burger King and Subway plan to inform customers with signs in restaurants if they run short of tomatoes.

Subway, a major user of tomatoes, will not alter prices or menu offerings, said Tina Fitzgerald, a buyer for Independent Purchasing Cooperative, which buys fresh produce for the sandwich chain.

"We'll say that we're temporarily out in case of a shortage or if the quality of the produce are bad," Fitzgerald said. "Food safety comes first."

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On the Net:

http://www.tomato.org/