Tomatoes become latest US affordability squeeze symbol
· Michael West
Tomatoes, ubiquitous in everything from fast-food burgers to haute cuisine, are taking on a new role beyond the plate in the United States: a nagging reminder of rising costs.
Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year for US consumers.
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“The tomato has become a symbol of something much deeper,” said Isaac Bernal Carbajo, a New York City chef who lamented life’s “simplest pleasures” falling victim to price increases.
“Something as basic as buying fresh vegetables is starting to become a serious financial decision for many families.”
Tomato prices are up about 40 per cent over a year ago, according to the latest US Consumer Price Index, dwarfing increases for other groceries, including coffee (up 18.5 per cent), beef roasts (up 17.8 per cent) and frozen fish and seafood (up 12 per cent).
A separate inflation gauge released on Thursday showed that overall prices increased 3.8 per cent in April from a year earlier, the highest reading in nearly three years.
Alongside crop yields, experts blame price increases for tomatoes, in part, on two pillars of US President Donald Trump’s second-term policies: the Iran war and tariffs.
The war spiked petrol prices and increased shipping costs.
Meanwhile, the US withdrew from a deal allowing duty-free imports of tomatoes from Mexico, which grows most of the United States’ supply.
Usha Haley, a Wichita State University economist, said it was “a perfect storm of trade policy, extreme weather and Mideast policy”.
US tomato farmers cheered the withdrawal from the tomato deal last July, saying it would help rebuild their shrinking industry.
But for consumers, it has been painful.
Although the US withdrew from the Mexico tomato deal in July, it took time to see the effect in the produce aisle, with more imports in late winter and early spring.
When the tomatoes arrived, they were slapped with a 17 per cent tariff.
“Tariffs are undeniably a big driver of the price inflation,” said Brett Massimino, a Virginia Commonwealth University business professor.
“Because the US relies on Mexico for the majority of its tomato supply, any changes in trade policy can have a large impact.”
US tariffs collected on tomatoes ballooned from just $US16,424 ($A23,000) in 2024 to nearly $US4.6 million, according to federal data.
As the cost trickles down, outraged shoppers have pulled out their phones in the produce aisle, shooting videos lamenting costs they said quadrupled, with some vowing to plant a garden to avoid the higher prices.