US tomato growers hope for a pick up in demand

Supply looks steady from a variety of regions for tomatoes so far in 2017. “There are still plenty available. It’s been a difficult year to say the least,” says Roger Riehm of Bradenton, Fl.-based Blue Creek Produce. “There’s been plenty of supply in all areas—Florida has had record weather and last year we had the complete opposite. We had cold weather and a lot of rain which definitely affects markets and demand and it impacts the supply too in Florida.” This year, he adds, with near-perfect weather for the last six months for example, the market never fluctuates and the regions have been very stagnant.

Riehm adds that supplies out of Mexico coming through via Texas or Arizona seem equally solid. “Nogales has had plenty of tomatoes,” he says. “There seems to be more tomatoes coming out of Texas than Nogales even.” Florida meanwhile just seems to be between crops.

Demand could be better

At the same time, Riehm notes that demand for tomatoes has been somewhat soft. “It’s been weak and stagnant because markets have been flooded with tomatoes,” he adds. “It’s been pretty tough for a lot of people with lots of slow demand.”

Pricing has been equally stagnant, though Riehm says he’s starting to notice a bit of a change. “Pricing has been a little stronger this last week,” he says. “I see prices a little on the rise out of Florida this week. Grape tomatoes up a little tight, round and romas just slightly up a little bit. I’m seeing a little bit of a better market this week. Whether it’s enough to make it a real market or not is what we’re trying to figure out.” He anticipates that over the next few weeks, supply will stay steady and demand will increase.

For more information:
Roger Riehm
Blue Creek Produce
Tel: +1-630-513-3075
roger@bluecreekproduce.com
www.bluecreekproduce.com