News and Stories

UPDATE: Tomatoes

December 08, 2015

 

Prices are rising in Florida and Mexico. Mature green, Roma, and vine ripe production will continue to yield limited supplies for the month of December. Expect high prices until harvesting increases in Mexico in January.

 

Mature Green Tomatoes

  • November’s elevated temperatures pushed fields two weeks ahead of schedule in the Central Florida region of Ruskin/Palmetto
  • Growers will struggle to meet demand between fall fields and new winter production in Immokalee, Florida
  • Harvesting schedules will be day to day as intermittent rain and cloudy conditions are preventing tomatoes from maturing; extra-large and large tomatoes will be especially tight
  • Prices will rise sharply this week and remain elevated for several weeks
  • Unseasonably low volume in Mexican Roma and vine ripe crops continues to drive up demand for East Coast mature green supplies
  • Mexican mature green stocks will start arriving into Nogales, Arizona by late December/early January

Roma and Vine Ripe Tomatoes

  • Typically, early season winter supplies from Culiacan, Mexico would be available to load in Nogales and South Texas, but active storms in mainland Mexico during the planting phase pushed back start dates by two to three weeks
  • Growers are struggling to meet demand from depleted fall fields in Baja, Mexico and Central Mexico
  • Stocks from Baja usually supplement orders during October and November, but yields are greatly reduced due to summer and fall hurricanes
  • Cherry and grape tomatoes are also strained, causing prices to rise
  • Overall production will remain limited through the month of December

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

 

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