Tomato Talk & More

Welcome *back* to Tomato Talk & More! We added the “& more” part because we will be covering topics that go beyond tomatoes. At Maglio, we are constantly evolving with the times, which is why our product offerings have expanded. It’s important for us to keep you up to date with industry trends, as well as Maglio-specific news, Tomato Talk & More will be your resource for produce conversations, recipes, events, and more. So, let’s kick off the welcome-back blog with the staple that started it over 115 years ago: tomatoes.

Round tomatoes: In the United States, California is serving as the main growing region. August will serve as the first supply gap in California fields, but that will not happen until the second full week of the month, so supply is still keeping up with the mid-summer demand. The East Coast still has some production taking place, specifically in the Carolinas and Virginia, however the Tennessee and Alabama harvests are all but wrapping up. During the first week of August, Michigan picked its initial vine-ripes. Although the first quality reports show some tenderness, this can be expected from the introductory fruit off the vine for the season. In the coming weeks, expect to see some promotable volumes on round varieties, with good size to boot.

Roma tomatoes: While California picks up a small amount of increase business from the lower summer volume coming out of Mexico, the supply is still in a relatively strong position against demand. Mexico’s vine ripes continue to cross the border daily out of Baja California, and this will help fill the domestic demand taking place, however summer volume is only a fraction of what winter brings to the domestic picture. Because of the abnormally hot Midwestern growing weather, Michigan started picking their first romas last week and brought on more product than expected.

Grape/Cherry tomatoes: For the month of August, Mexico will be the strongest supply of the bite-size tomatoes. Because local gardens are springing up across the country, the demand is expected to stall quietly, which allows prices to maintain low FOB on bulk and clamshell packs. While Virginia will have some product for domestic buyers, it will only represent less than 25% of grape/cherry tomato supply for this time period.

We know what you’re thinking, that is a lot of information to have thrown at you about tomatoes. But trust us, we’re the tomato people so we know what we’re talking about! Tomato Talk & More is meant to give you a brief overview of important changes taking place not only in the fields, but across the whole produce industry. Have questions? We’d love for you to reach out: Info@maglioproduce.com