Why your tomatoes are suddenly so expensive: inside the latest inflation squeeze

Tomato prices have increased about 40% over the past year, making tomatoes one of the most noticeable grocery cost pressures. Overall prices rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier, the highest reading in nearly three years. Economists and experts link tomato inflation to crop and supply disruptions, trade policy changes, extreme weather, and Middle East-related factors. A war has pushed up gas prices and increased shipping costs. Tariffs and the U.S. withdrawal from a deal that allowed duty-free tomato imports from Mexico reduced access to a major supply source. The effects took time to appear in stores as imports shifted and arrived later in the season.

""The tomato has become a symbol of something much deeper," says 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.""

"Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year to cement a spot as one of the consumer headaches du jour. Tomato prices are up about 40% over a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, dwarfing increases for other groceries, including coffee (up 18.5%), beef roasts (up 17.8%) and frozen fish and seafood (up 12%), among other products that have become symbols of America's affordability squeeze."

"Alongside crop yields, experts blame price increases for tomatoes, in part, on two pillars of President Donald Trump's second-term policies: the Iran war and tariffs. The war spiked gas prices and increased shipping costs. Meantime, the U.S. withdrew from a deal allowing duty-free imports of tomatoes from Mexico, which grows most of America's supply."

"Usha Haley, a Wichita State University economist, says it's "a perfect storm of trade policy, extreme weather and Mideast policy." American tomato farmers cheered the withdrawal from the tomato deal last July, saying it would help rebuild their shrinking industry. But for consumers, it's been painful. Though the U.S. withdrew from the Mexico tomato deal in July, it took time to see the impact in the produce aisle, with more imports in late winter and early spring."

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