Washington, DC
February 2, 2005
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today
announced that USDA Market News reporters are finding shipments
of Florida tomatoes have nearly returned to pre-hurricane season
levels.
Florida tomato farmers are
recovering from a historically brutal summer that saw four major
hurricanes uproot their crops across the state in August and
September.
USDA Market News reported that on
Nov. 15, 2004 total season shipments of Florida tomatoes were
down to 42 percent of the figure for same date in 2003 (52
million pounds vs. 125 million pounds a year earlier). The
return of the tomato crop can be seen a month later: Dec. 15,
2004 total season shipments of Florida tomatoes were at 72
percent of the 2003 level. By Jan. 15, 2005, Florida's total
shipments of tomatoes for the season had reached 95 percent of
the level reported on that date a year earlier.
While Florida struggled with
hurricanes, other major tomato-producing regions experienced
their own problems with heavy rains and pest problems. The
combination created a short-term but significant shortage of
tomatoes for Americans nationwide that reverberated in
restaurants and cafeterias and at the retail level through
autumn and into the first weeks of winter.
Ironically, Florida tomato farmers
are now facing the opposite problem: Growers are reporting to
AMS that they’re seeing low demand for their new crop of
tomatoes. Apparently the news that the tomato shortage is over
hasn’t reached consumers, growers say.
Florida is the largest producer of
tomatoes for the fresh market in the United States. In 2003,
Florida farmers produced nearly 1.4 billion pounds of tomatoes,
valued at almost $37 million, according to USDA's National
Agricultural Statistics Service.
USDA Market News, with 250 federal
reporters and state collaborators, issues more than 300,000
daily, weekly, monthly, and annual reports on the wholesale
prices and movement of more than 1,000 commodities. Operating
through AMS, the news service is celebrating its 90th
anniversary this year. The service’s Web site is at
http://www.ams.usda.gov/marketnews.htm.
USDA’s Economic Research Service
also is keeping tabs on the tomato situation. Information is at
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Tomatoes/freshTomNov04.htm.
Florida Tomatoes Season 2004-2005
starting Sept. 1, 2004
(shipments in 40,000 lb. units)
|
Report Date |
Total
to date Season 2004 |
Total
to date Season 2003 |
Percentage Difference |
|
Nov.
15, 2004 |
1298 |
3119 |
42% of
normal |
|
Dec.
15, 2004 |
4687 |
6552 |
72% of
normal |
|
Jan.
15, 2005 |
11494 |
12153 |
95% of
normal |
January 2005 volume of tomato
shipments has reached normal shipping levels after experiencing
deficits in November and December.
Source: USDA Market News |
