MIAMI — Just months after a cold snap in Florida killed many tomato plants and sent supermarket prices skyrocketing, farmers have an unexpected surplus and prices have plummeted.
For many Florida tomato growers, a terrible season is ending with an impossible choice — harvest their crops at a loss of almost 50 cents on the dollar or cut production costs by leaving the fruit to rot on the vine.
Cold temperatures in January and February killed many tomato plants and caused a shortage that pushed the average wholesale price of winter tomatoes to $30 for a 25-pound box by early March. Grocery stores raised their prices in turn, with some charging nearly $4 a pound.
Rather than pay up, consumers became used to doing without. Now, as the surviving plants mature, there are more tomatoes than farmers can sell.
"Restaurants had been taking them off the menu or charging more for a tomato on a sandwich … and people just stopped eating them," said Reggie Brown, manager for the Florida Tomato Committee. "Now we need everyone to go out and buy some."
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