California tomatoes could be in tight supply until mid-September
California tomatoes could be in tight supply until mid-September
An extended heat wave in California that began on June 30 and was finally just beginning to break in mid-August caused some reduction in tomato yields and contributed to a strengthening of market prices beginning in early August.
More significantly, the heat is said to have caused bloom drop in mature greens in the San Joaquin Valley that will cause a dip in production from around mid-August through about mid-September.
From mid-September through October, the California mature green industry is expected to be at peak production. That is the time that growers plan to have their heaviest production, since by then, the local tomato deals around the country have generally wrapped up, and buyers are looking to California for their tomato needs.
A cool, wet winter and spring got the mature green deal off to a slow start. "We've been playing catch-up with last year," said Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Commission. By late July, "we pretty much got to where we were equal with last year's production. Now, I expect we will probably start to fall off, he said Tuesday, Aug. 9. Because of the hot weather, "the yield is less, and we've come off in volume about 30 percent over the last couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, vine-ripe production in Southern California "is lagging last year significantly because the amount of spring cloud cover delayed the start. Production in Baja California, Mexico, however, is "running ahead of last year, Mr. Beckman said.
Although the California tomato season had been going since May, typically about two-thirds of the crop comes from mid-August on. "The biggest months we have are September and October, Mr. Beckman said. August is typically "a little lighter month, he said. "We tend to come up to a peak in July, come down a little bit in August, then start ramping back up in September, with October historically being the largest-volume month.
This year, however, "I don't see the ramp-up anywhere near what it was last year, because of the weather -- at least at this point, he said.
"This has been a year when we have earned our money, let me tell you, said Jeff Dolan of The DiMare Co. in Newman, CA. "It has been a challenge from day one. ... We went from a cool, wet spring into an extremely hot summer, each of which presented its own set of challenges.
"Right now, everything is a few days ahead, he said Aug. 9. But "as far as the fall crop, at this point, it is way too early to tell what is going to happen.
Bloom drop is an issue in certain areas of the San Joaquin Valley, particularly where the nights have been hotter, he said.
"I think starting about the week of August 22 is when we are going to see volume really drop off in [mature green] tomatoes because of the gap from a bloom drop, said Joe Bernardi of Bernardi & Associates in Turlock, CA. "That is the real big factor the heat is going to have. ... We had such extreme heat, it knocked the bloom off of the plants.
He expects the situation to continue until about Sept. 12, after which, if more moderate temperatures return as is now expected, "we should see things get back to normal for the balance of the deal.
It has been unseasonably warm this summer not only in California but throughout much of the nation. The warm weather has brought on a flush of tomatoes in producing regions across the country creating a downward pressure on markets. Some in the California tomato industry are optimistic that it was also beginning to lead to a premature decline in production in the various home-grown deals, creating greater demand and a wider window for California product.
"We're just barely starting to see it today, David Cook of Deardorff-Jackson Co. in Oxnard, CA, said Monday, Aug. 8. "There was an improvement in demand, especially on Romas but also on round tomatoes, he said. "Nobody is tearing the door off the hinges to get tomatoes yet. But you can see a slow but gradual change in customers' attitudes.
Mr. Cook expects "good supplies of vine-ripe round tomatoes and Romas in September and October, as planned.
(For more on the California/Baja tomato deal, see the Aug. 22 issue of The Produce News.)
More significantly, the heat is said to have caused bloom drop in mature greens in the San Joaquin Valley that will cause a dip in production from around mid-August through about mid-September.
From mid-September through October, the California mature green industry is expected to be at peak production. That is the time that growers plan to have their heaviest production, since by then, the local tomato deals around the country have generally wrapped up, and buyers are looking to California for their tomato needs.
A cool, wet winter and spring got the mature green deal off to a slow start. "We've been playing catch-up with last year," said Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Commission. By late July, "we pretty much got to where we were equal with last year's production. Now, I expect we will probably start to fall off, he said Tuesday, Aug. 9. Because of the hot weather, "the yield is less, and we've come off in volume about 30 percent over the last couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, vine-ripe production in Southern California "is lagging last year significantly because the amount of spring cloud cover delayed the start. Production in Baja California, Mexico, however, is "running ahead of last year, Mr. Beckman said.
Although the California tomato season had been going since May, typically about two-thirds of the crop comes from mid-August on. "The biggest months we have are September and October, Mr. Beckman said. August is typically "a little lighter month, he said. "We tend to come up to a peak in July, come down a little bit in August, then start ramping back up in September, with October historically being the largest-volume month.
This year, however, "I don't see the ramp-up anywhere near what it was last year, because of the weather -- at least at this point, he said.
"This has been a year when we have earned our money, let me tell you, said Jeff Dolan of The DiMare Co. in Newman, CA. "It has been a challenge from day one. ... We went from a cool, wet spring into an extremely hot summer, each of which presented its own set of challenges.
"Right now, everything is a few days ahead, he said Aug. 9. But "as far as the fall crop, at this point, it is way too early to tell what is going to happen.
Bloom drop is an issue in certain areas of the San Joaquin Valley, particularly where the nights have been hotter, he said.
"I think starting about the week of August 22 is when we are going to see volume really drop off in [mature green] tomatoes because of the gap from a bloom drop, said Joe Bernardi of Bernardi & Associates in Turlock, CA. "That is the real big factor the heat is going to have. ... We had such extreme heat, it knocked the bloom off of the plants.
He expects the situation to continue until about Sept. 12, after which, if more moderate temperatures return as is now expected, "we should see things get back to normal for the balance of the deal.
It has been unseasonably warm this summer not only in California but throughout much of the nation. The warm weather has brought on a flush of tomatoes in producing regions across the country creating a downward pressure on markets. Some in the California tomato industry are optimistic that it was also beginning to lead to a premature decline in production in the various home-grown deals, creating greater demand and a wider window for California product.
"We're just barely starting to see it today, David Cook of Deardorff-Jackson Co. in Oxnard, CA, said Monday, Aug. 8. "There was an improvement in demand, especially on Romas but also on round tomatoes, he said. "Nobody is tearing the door off the hinges to get tomatoes yet. But you can see a slow but gradual change in customers' attitudes.
Mr. Cook expects "good supplies of vine-ripe round tomatoes and Romas in September and October, as planned.
(For more on the California/Baja tomato deal, see the Aug. 22 issue of The Produce News.)
