Despite being an American citizen and business owner living in Florida, Blue Creek Produce Owner, Roger Riehm’s tomato farm is located in Jalisco, Mexico—selling cherry and grape tomatoes into the US during a time of elevated tariffs specifically targeting Mexican-grown tomatoes.
“It’s been a ‘Yo-Yo’ market, and it’s been changing daily over the last six months,” said Riehm during a phone call with Expana.
“It’s been a challenging year. Whether it’s finding trucks, rides, freight rates… I’ve been doing this 25 years, and this last year has been one of the most difficult… The tariff on tomatoes has been crazy over last eight months. I understand that the idea is to protect growers in Florida… But for me, I’m still dealing with that [tariff coming] right out of my checking account on every shipment.”
Riehm wondered where his tariff payments were going, and whether he had any shot at a tariff refund. Although, he acknowledged that the “Tomato Suspension Agreement” had been a noteworthy factor since 2004. Since being lifted, the US simply charges a ~17% tariff on any Mexican tomato imports, rather than setting a price for those imports.
Weather Impacts Tomato Prices, Supply
At the same time, he has been watching the weather for potential impacts, and of course watching tomato pricing out of Mexico, the US, and Canada.
“Florida hasn’t had a lot of tomatoes this year,” said Riehm, who alluded to the frost damage incurred by Sunshine State growers.
“They’re struggling with round and Roma tomatoes, and there’s a small window before they stop [harvesting] in June. So, [Mexican producers] have absorbed the costs, and the consumer is also paying for it one way or another.”
Mexican producers have also faced their own share of weather issues, said Riehm—contributing to a North American tomato market with less supply this year.
“We haven’t had great production out of Mexico… We’ve been at about 20% less availability for a lot of commodities… We’ve seen it in peppers and limes due to weather issues around Mexico. So, pricing has been stronger,” he said.
“We’ve had cold weather that has affected blossom drop for the future crop. It could be until this May before we see normal production from cold weather impacts and rain impacts.”
Over the last year, the value of grape tomatoes priced in the Chicago terminal has increased approximately 140-156% year-over-year (YOY) to 266.67 USc/Lb on the lower range – 275 USc/Lb on the higher range, according to the Expana platform.
The North American tomato market has also affected the pricing and availability of tomatoes in foodservice channels as well, said Riehm.
“The 25 Lb boxes of round tomatoes that buyers like Burger King uses for Whoppers are normally $20/box, and now they’re $60/box,” he claimed. “And some of the brands, like Hello Fresh, substituted grape tomatoes instead of round and Romas. I’ve seen them leave little notes to their food box customers that say their business has been impacted.”
Other Factors Contributing to Tomato Prices
The current price and availability of tomatoes in the US is not only subject to tariff costs and Trump administration policies, but also weather impacts and higher energy and shipping costs too, reported Expana. Riehm confirmed the factors affecting tomato prices and availability.
“We’re dealing with trucks and diesel… I’m paying $8,000 for truck shipments which were normally $5,000,” he said. “Also, a lot of drivers won’t drive toward California if they don’t speak English in fear of getting pulled over. So, we’ve lost a lot of drivers, which has driven freight prices higher to get tomatoes and produce to the US.”
Similar prices were given in a recent analysis piece by Expana’s Market Reporter, Laura Robb.
“Domestic freight costs are experiencing parallel increases driven primarily by fuel price escalations. Importers report receiving fuel surcharge notifications from Northeast producers scheduled to begin in mid-May, with some [vegetable importers] paying over $9,000 for domestic truck transportation to destination markets,” wrote Robb.
Background
On April 14, 2025, the US Department of Commerce announced the withdrawal from the 2019 Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico, reported Expana.
In 1996, the US and Mexico inked the Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) after similar antidumping claims. This came before and is separate from the current US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA).
“Under the TSA, Mexican tomato producers agreed to sell fresh tomatoes in the US market at set reference prices, and in return, the US suspended the antidumping duty investigation,” according to Southern Ag Today.
Image source: Getty
Written by Ryan Gallagher
