Why have tomato prices surged nearly 40% in a year? - CBS News

Updated on: May 29, 2026 / 4:15 PM EDT / CBS News Tomatoes are the latest popular food to take a bite out of consumer wallets, joining items like coffee, bananas and beef. As of April, government data shows the fruit's prices were up nearly 40% from a year ago, compared with 17% for food costs overall. Across the U.S., tomatoes cost an average of $2.69 a pound, a record high, according to Federal Reserve figures.  By comparison, coffee prices in April had risen 18.5% from the trailing 12 months, ground beef had jumped 19% and seafood was up 12%, labor data shows. Several factors are driving up tomato prices, David Branch, sector manager at the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, told CBS News. The U.S. in July imposed a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes after withdrawing from a three-decade-old trade agreement that enabled duty-free tomato imports from Mexico. Although scuttling the deal benefited American farmers, consumers are feeling the pain. U.S. tariffs collected on tomatoes have surged from just $16,424 in 2024 to nearly $4.6 million, according to federal data. In 2025, nearly 90% of U.S. tomato imports came from Mexico, Branch noted. "Because the U.S. relies on Mexico for the majority of its tomato supply, any changes in trade policy can have a large impact," added Brett Massimino, a Virginia Commonwealth University business professor. Bad weather and disease are also indirectly pushing up tomato prices by hurting production in Mexico and Florida, reducing supplies. "What's making it unique is the fact that there is a shortage of tomatoes and there isn't a shortage of other produce," said Phillip Coles, a professor of supply chain management at Lehigh University.  Food industry analyst Phil Lempert, known as the SupermarketGuru, also said the Iran war is fueling higher tomato costs through higher oil prices. "Because of the Iran war, the price of transporting tomatoes is more expensive." Tomatoes are typically shipped on refrigerated trucks that require more diesel to power both the vehicles and the refrigerators housing the tomatoes, he noted. "When you have a major rise in a core cost component, it winds up having a big impact in the end," Massimino told CBS News. "It's a weird situation that all these things are coming together at once." Edited by Alain Sherter The Associated Press contributed to this report.