US tomato prices could jump as soon as Monday [View all]

Source: CNN Business

Published 11:30 AM EDT, Sun July 13, 2025


CNN — If tomato prices jump because of new tariffs on the Mexican-grown produce, restaurant owner Teresa Razo says her businesses could go bust. “I give it three months, and then we go bankrupt,” said Teresa Razo, owner of two Argentine-Italian restaurants in Southern California.

On July 14, a nearly three-decade-old US-Mexico trade agreement may give way to 20.9% tariffs on most Mexican tomato imports. That could mean higher prices for Americans at the grocery store, at the pizza parlor — anywhere that uses tomatoes. And for some small businesses, higher prices could close them down entirely.

The tomato tariffs are among the latest examples of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policy, which has shaken up global trade, left companies uncertain how to plan for the future, and made Americans nervous about where the world’s biggest economy could be headed. Field-grown tomatoes cost US shoppers about $1.70 per pound as of May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Consumer tomato prices could rise by about 10% and demand may fall by 5% as a result of these tariffs, according to Timothy Richards, a professor of agribusiness at Arizona State University. The United States is the top market for Mexican tomato exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture. In a June report, the department found that the new tariffs would likely lead to a drop in tomato imports and higher prices.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/business/tomato-tariffs-mexico-prices

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We are in the U.S.'s "domestic" tomato season but since stable genius decided to raid the farms and the mechanical harvesters are best for tomatoes used in juice or sauce, etc. (vs out of hand eating types), then...