What’s a burger chef’s most dreaded eventuality? After high beef prices, it’s produce (toppings) price hikes. And due to to a number of conflicting conditions, tomato prices could be headed for record highs…
Burger perfection: A slice or even two of freshly cut, vine-ripened tomato
directly atop a sizzling patty. Just not the same without it…
The simple tomato. Added perfection stacked upon a perfect patty fresh off a sizzling summer grill. But Trump’s tariffs are threatening to bump up fresh tomato prices an unprecedented 50 percent – literally overnight…
Just not the same…
For me – and I daresay millions of other North American burger enthusiasts – a burger is just not the same without a slice or even two of freshly cut, vine-ripened tomato perched directly atop the siz-zling patty. That’s usually not a problem. Except when Donald Trump and his new added tariffs slam the retail price of tomato imports from Mexico – high even at this time of year – to record highs.
Which is exactly what has happened…
Here’s the deal, according to Food & Wine:
- The United States withdraw from a trade deal with Mexico on July 14, reinstating a 20.91 percent tariff on most fresh tomato imports.
- Mexico supplies 93 percent of U.S. tomato imports, even at this time of year.
- Prices could rise by up to 50 percent due to reduced supply and added costs.
- Mexican growers are already cutting back on planting, which may worsen supply shortages in the autumn–winter season.
Long-term issues
With the US out of the Mexican trade deal, plans for next year are already being made with poten-tially shattering consequences for Mexican farmers.
First of all, they’re probably planing to put in smaller crops. As the USDA puts it, you can’t just turn on the tomato crop like you can a light switch. It’s only a few short months until next year’s Mexican to-mato crop is due to be seeded in. And deciding how many acres/hectares to plant is literally a crap-shoot.
Fewer tomatoes also means fewer jobs in Mexico, where tomatoes are usually considered a major employer. Along with avocados, sweet and chili peppers, and other ‘soft’ summer veggies usually timed to come in when prices are premium here in the north simply because our seasons change, and we can’t get up to three a year via conventional outdoor agriculture.
My take
And this ‘summer tariffs’ disaster is not just a momentary thing. Economists say Americans could see record high prices through the end of the year. This year’s Mexican ‘late’ tomato crop is in the ground and growing it’s little heart out. And it will come ripe on the same schedule everybody expected it to, when this year’s growing season was planned way back last year.
If Mexican Tomatoes are not selling to the US as usual at harvest time, the surplus will be going into salsa or sauce jars a week later. Or preserved as canned or jarred tomatoes (with a Tex-Mex spice-up of course) to be sold until this time next year, as a fall-back for fresh.
Alas for Mexico – and burger lovers across North America – you can’t slice crushed, diced or whole-canned tomatoes.
~ Maggie J.