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Harvested processing tomatoes in a loaded gondola on their way out of the field in Yolo County, California.<\/p>\n
Jack Clark\/Design Pics Editorial\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A key ingredient for pizza, BLTs, springtime salads and other dishes has gotten a lot pricier<\/a> of late.<\/p>\n Prices for fresh tomatoes have soared in recent months, largely on the back of tariffs<\/a>, higher energy costs triggered by the Iran war<\/a>, and weather-related supply shocks, according to agricultural economists. <\/p>\n The average retail price of field-grown tomatoes jumped to about $2.26 per pound in March, the highest level in more than eight years, according to data<\/a> tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. <\/p>\n Consumers saw prices for fresh tomatoes spike about 15% in the month of March alone, following a 6% increase in February, according to the consumer price index<\/a>, an inflation barometer.<\/p>\n The monthly inflation rate for tomatoes in March was the largest for any consumer good or service, outside of energy commodities like gasoline<\/a> and fuel oil, which have risen sharply due to an oil supply shock tied to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. <\/p>\n Overall, fresh tomato prices are up 23% over the past year, according to CPI data.<\/p>\n Relief doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon, economists said. <\/p>\n “I do expect there’s more pain on the horizon for tomato prices,” said Ricky Volpe, a professor of agribusiness at California Polytechnic State University and an expert in food retail and supply chain management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tomatoes are displayed for sale at a Walmart store in Mexico City on October 27, 2025. <\/p>\n Yuri Cortez | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Tariffs levied on imports of Mexican tomatoes appear to be the primary factor underpinning the recent runup in price, said Andrew Muhammad, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Tennessee.<\/p>\n Tomatoes are among the most commonly consumed vegetables<\/a> by Americans, second only to potatoes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n Botanically, tomatoes are fruits<\/a>, but in data sources such as the CPI, they are categorized as “fresh vegetables.”<\/p>\n The U.S. imports the bulk of the tomatoes that consumers eat, Muhammad said. <\/p>\n When examining imports of fresh produce from foreign countries, tomatoes often rank first or second, behind avocados, according to a 2025 article<\/a> authored by Muhammad and Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhy tomato prices have spiked<\/h2>\n