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- NAFTA Free Trade Costly
for Florida Fresh Tomato Industry
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- By Karen Gentry
Associate Editor
- Florida tomato producers don’t move quite as many tomatoes these days, due in part to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But Florida is still the leading producer of fresh market tomatoes in the United States.
Reggie Brown, manager of the Florida Tomato Commission and executive vice-president of the Florida Tomato Exchange said NAFTA was a major disrupter in the industry.
“Western Mexico is the primary competition for the tomatoes we produce here in Florida,” said Brown. Since NAFTA the Florida tomato industry has lost about one-third of its value from a $600-$700 million industry a year to between $400-$500 million currently. NAFTA went into effect in 1994 and removed most barriers to trade and investment among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Under NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated.
A suspension agreement in 1996 between the Mexican industry and the U.S. Commerce Department resulted in a minimum price structure which has stabilized prices of tomatoes brought into the U.S., according to Brown. However, there’s no quotas on tomatoes and Mexico is free to export as many tomatoes as they want.
Florida’s tomato industry has gone through some serious consolidation. Where there once were 200-300 growers their numbers have dwindled to less than 100. They grow fresh market tomatoes on more than 40,000 acres, according to Brown. Acreage has also decreased since the early 1990s from 50,000 acres to just over 40,000.
Chances are when a chef slices a tomato or a mother cuts up tomatoes for a salad for her family, the tomatoes are from Florida. The Florida tomato industry is all about moving large volumes of produce through the foodservice industry as well as the retail system. Florida packers ship 50-60 million cartons (25 lbs.) from mid-September through mid-June, according to Brown.
The state of Florida produces virtually all of the fresh market tomatoes grown in the U.S. from December to May and about half of all the domestically produced fresh market tomatoes in the country. Less than 1% of Florida tomato production is used for processing each year. There are six principal tomato producing areas in Florida with two regions - Palmetto-Ruskin (near Tampa) and Southwest - producing about one-half the crop, according to Brown. Each of these six areas have their primary season for producing tomatoes.
“We are the country’s primary source of winter vegetables - period,” Brown said. Tomatoes lead the way as the number one vegetable in Florida.
The varieties grown in Florida constantly change, with some dominating at different times. Brown said Florida 47, a variety from Seminis Seeds has been a dominant variety lately. Its popularity is due to high yields, excellent eating quality and taste and high degree of firmness.
Climatic conditions are the primary reason Florida dominates the market with its fresh tomatoes. “When you’re neck deep in snow in Michigan, we grow tomatoes,” Brown said. “We produce tomatoes continually from the state from September until June,” said Brown.
The Florida tomato industry relies on hand labor for harvest. The migrant labor comes from Mexico and other Central American countries.
The sweet potato white fly is the biggest pest problem, Brown said. “We have all the typical pest problems from a sub-tropic climate,” he said. Brown said Florida growers are using the appropriate pesticide and scouting programs necessary to monitor the pests.
In Gadsden County in northern Florida on the Georgia border, 20 tomato growers produce tomatoes for five packinghouses. Just one packinghouse in the country ships 1.8 million cartons of tomatoes per year, according to Will Maxwell, from the Gadsden County Tomato Growers, Inc. Growers there plant in March and harvest in June and then plant again in late July and harvest in October and November. Many Gadsden County growers also own or lease acres for growing tomatoes in southern and central Florida, according to Maxwell.
Maxwell said the ground in northern Florida has a lot more clay compared to southern and central Florida, which is more sandy. However, growing conditions in the whole state are mostly similar, he said.
Maxwell, a grower of 100 acres of tomatoes, is considered a small grower. Most growers in his area grow 250-300 acres a crop, 500-600 acres a year.
The tightening of the labor market and overproduction are two problems facing tomato growers, according to Maxwell. Mexico isn’t a big factor for northern Florida, he said. If southern Florida is late and California enters the tomato market in June, there’s a problem with overlapping of market windows, Maxwell said.
The Florida Tomato Commission is a federal marketing order with the primary responsibility of monitoring the quality of tomatoes leaving the state of Florida, according to Brown. The commission funds research to the tune of $250,000 per year along with $750,000 per year on promotion and public relations.
California, Georgia and Virginia follow Florida as the leading producers of fresh market tomatoes in the United States.
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