http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55459-2004Nov16.html(this article also talks about how restaurants and Wendy's and SubWay are handling the tomato problem)
Fried Green . . . CucumbersRestaurants, Supermarkets Confront Tomato Shortage
It's been a rough few months for tomatoes.
They've been swirled in California floods. They've been smashed by Florida hurricanes. They've been picked at by Mexican bugs.
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The tomato shortage began in October and is expected to continue into next month. Many in the produce industry expect the next two weeks to be the worst yet as any remaining supply is used up before a new harvest can replenish the market. By the time it's over, it could be the worst shortage since a frost knocked out much of the winter tomato crop in 1989, said Gary Lucier, an Agriculture Department economist. "About a third of the tomatoes that we'd usually see are actually coming to market," Lucier said.
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"It's a triple whammy," said B. Hudson Riehle, senior vice president for research at the National Restaurant Association. "You have had the impact of hurricanes in Florida concurrent with the fact that California has had unseasonably high rains. And in the Mexican market you have had some pest problems. So you have the confluence of these three isolated events putting pressure not only on availability but on price."
Tomatoes at the point of shipment have been selling in recent days for more than $1.20 a pound, four times what they cost this time last year. The average U.S. consumer demands 18 pounds of fresh tomatoes a year, according to the Agriculture Department, so restaurants and grocery stores face the unappetizing choice of raising prices or covering the higher cost themselves.
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http://www.kvii.com/news/headlines/1148406.htmlTomato ShortageBy: Da Lin
Picking up some fresh tomatoes at the grocery store will soon force you to dig deeper into your pocket. That's because of a tomato shortage nationwide. The shortage will affect people dining in and dining out.
The tomatoe crop is suffering because recent hurricanes and severe storms have destroyed many tomato crops in Florida, California, and Mexico. Some of the area farmers have also been affected.
U.S.D.A. reports tomato wholesale prices spiked 167 percent in October. A 25-pound box that cost $12 in September is now selling for $30. And that means prices at local grocery stores will soon go up.
Many local restaurants haven't changed their menu prices, yet. But some owners say they'll be forced to pass the increase down to their customers.
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