Fresh tomato prices surged 40% in April as supply shocks mount
Tariffs on Mexican tomatoes, crop damage, and higher fuel costs helped push prices to their highest level in over four decades.
Gas might be the inflation supervillain getting all of the attention right now, but don’t ignore the humble tomato. According to the latest CPI data, released Tuesday, fresh tomato prices surged nearly 40% year over year in April, contributing to a broader rise in fresh vegetable prices, which rose 11.5% from a year earlier.
Indeed, the average retail price of field-grown tomatoes climbed to $2.69 per pound in April, the highest in Bureau of Labor Statistics data going back to 1980, after prices had already reached an eight-year high in March.
The spike reflects a triple whammy of import pressure, domestic supply strain, and rising energy costs. With Mexico accounting for more than 90% of US fresh tomato imports, a 17% tariff imposed on Mexican tomatoes last year was already squeezing prices — before heavy rain and disease further hurt the country’s yields. At the same time, a rare freeze in Florida, the largest fresh tomato supplier in the US, devastated domestic crops, with state officials estimating 80% production losses.
Then came the Iran war-driven energy shock, as higher fuel costs made it more expensive to move perishable produce quickly from field to grocery shelf.
One small relief, though, is that the rest of your BLT is holding up a little better: lettuce prices are at least cooling, up 7.9% year over year in April — still elevated, but easing from 13.8% in March. Bacon, meanwhile, remained relatively calm, rising just 0.7%.
