March 13th, 2010

US Tomato Shortage and a Restaurant Near You. Love tomatoes on your burgers? Well, the US is experiencing a shortage in the popular fruit (yes, they are a fruit) which is expected to affect many fast food restaurants.  Florida had a rough winter, and the nation’s biggest producer of tomatoes has experienced a 60-70% decline.

Think you can go without tomatoes? Don’t forget – they are used as a base for pizza sauce, ketchup, and in lots of Mexican dishes, salads, and more.  Last year, a 25 pound box of the crop sold on the market for roughly $7 – not too shabby.  This year, they are already going for $30 a pound.

Restaurants have narrow profit margins, and any increase in input costs is surely going to affect the bottom line.  Some franchises just may have to go without the crop until the market stabilizes.

In the short term, this isn’t that big of a deal.  The fruit will likely be left off many dishes and consumers may or may not notice.  In the long term, however, tomato sauces and ketchup could be affected – and this is something that many fast food consumers simply won’t go without.

If that happens, expect prices to rise – except when the shortage is over, don’t expect restaurants to lower their pricing to pre-shortage rates!

What do you think about the tomato shortage? Will it affect you? Will you be upset if your favorite fast food restaurant stops offering it up with your meal?

Source:
CNN.com

Photo Credit: Morguefile.com free photo

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