If you slice a tomato for a sandwich or enjoy a glass of wine at dinner, Mother Nature could have an effect on your food budget.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida’s frigid February and January — ranked among the coldest months on record — destroyed more than 70 percent of the state’s winter tomato harvest.
Other states grow tomatoes in greenhouses during the winter, but Florida is the only state where large crops of tomatoes are grown during the winter. California farmers grow tomatoes generally used in processed foods such as juices, sauces and ketchup.
Therefore, losing so much of a crop means businesses may hold the tomato on a hamburger while they pay more for their tomato supply.
“The price [of tomatoes] has gone sky high,” said Kent Wilson, owner of Greentown’s newest restaurant, the Sportsman’s Cafe.
Before the bad weather, Wilson was paying around $8 for a case, which contains about 40 tomatoes. Now he’s paying $45.
“I know there are some restaurants that are only using tomatoes on request,” Wilson said. “The only thing I am doing is maybe not cutting them as thick for sandwiches, but we are going to give our customers their tomatoes.
“I get [Florida] weather reports all the time and this happens every time there is cold weather there. It’s been a bad year, but you know it’s not going to last, so you deal with it. I am not going to change a dish or not put them on a sandwich. You know it’s going to end and you make your money up later. That’s just the way it is in this business.”
But Mother Nature’s bad business wasn’t confined to the Sunshine State.
On Feb. 27, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the South American country of Chile.
So far, the earthquake — along with the accompanying tsunami — has been blamed for at least 540 deaths and damaging or destroying more than 500,000 homes.
It also damaged the country’s fish and wine industries, which means consumers can expect higher prices for sardines and Chilean wines.
It is expected grape prices may exceed $2 a pound. According to federal trade officials, in 2008, the U.S. imported $2 billion worth of Chilean agricultural products.
Chile’s largest wine-growers’ association, Vinos de Chile, reported at least 12.5 percent of the country’s wine crop had been damaged, resulting in losses exceeding $250 million.
Furthermore, behind Europe, the U.S. is Chile’s second-largest market for its wines. Federal-trade officials report, yearly, the U.S. imports about $250 million worth of wine.
With 10 Kokomo locations, Soupley’s Wine and Spirits hasn’t seen a price increase on Chilean wines, said manager Lisa Rayl. However, if there were to be an increased cost for the wines, she expects those costs to “trickle down.”
“We carry quite of few varieties of Chilean wines. Our wholesalers haven’t mentioned anything about a price increase, but we might see one when we re-order and those prices may trickle down to us. But right now, we haven’t seen a price increase.”
Although The Quarry doesn’t serve Chilean wine, it does serve tomatoes, said owner Scott Futerfas.
As a result, what is happening with tomato prices isn’t new, he said, and there’s no way to “be prepared and proactive” when bad weather affects crops.
“The weather phenomenon and a natural disaster like this are unforeseen. Every year, we deal with something like this with produce. There is high demand and short supplies. That affects everyone every year,” said Futerfas. “It’s common. You can’t predict it. You do your best to get through it.
“You deal with it. You don’t stop serving. You continue to offer it, and you know you’ll get through it.”
• K.O. Jackson can be reached at 765-854-6739 or via e-mail kirven.jackson@kokomotribune.com
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