Following the announcement last week that the Department of Commerce would begin the process of terminating the 2019 tomato suspension agreement, the Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance announced a statement noting that the Commerce Department should renegotiate the suspension agreement to ensure market stability.
The CEA Alliance said, according to USDA data, that field tomatoes have decreased by 49% from 2010 to 2023, while U.S. greenhouse-grown tomatoes have increased by almost 70% and account for about one-third of the tomatoes grown in the U.S. The association said, though, that the U.S. greenhouse tomato industry has not been heard from in Commerce Department deliberations.
“When determining the best course of action for American farmers and consumers, the CEA Alliance believes the Department of Commerce must take into account the views of one-third of America’s tomato farmers, U.S. greenhouse tomato growers, not just field growers,” said Tom Stenzel, executive director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance.
Stenzel said the CEA Alliance’s members, which include major operations in California, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and more often grow in Mexico and Canada, too, for year-round availability. The CEA Alliance’s statement said the removal of the tomato suspension agreement would penalize growers and slow a fast-growing investment in greenhouses in the U.S.
“These companies want to invest more in the U.S. to be closer to consumers, but will have limited opportunity if a suspension agreement is not renegotiated with the Department of Commerce,” the statement said.
Stenzel also noted the likelihood of consumers bearing the brunt of the impact if the suspension agreement is revoked.
“Without an agreement, consumers are likely to see significant price increases and potential shortages in greenhouse-grown, vine-ripe and specialty tomatoes that they choose for taste and flavor,” he said.
Statement from Associations of Mexican Tomato Growers
A joint statement from the Asociación Mexicana de Horticultura Protegida, A.C., Asociación de Productores de Hortalizas del Yaqui y Mayo, Confederación de Asociaciones Agrícolas del Estado de Sinaloa, A.C., Consejo Agrícola de Baja California, A.C., and Sistema Producto Tomate said the potential termination of the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement would have devastating consequences to American consumers who relied on the suspension agreement for year-round, high-quality, affordable tomatoes for the past 30 years.
“The Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) on its website purports to support free trade ‘so long as it is fair trade,’” Associations of Mexican Tomato Growers said in the statement. “The suspension agreement exemplifies fair trade at its best. Mexico has the land and natural climate to grow healthy tomatoes. The United States simply does not have the natural environment for tomato farms to thrive year round. The suspension agreement gives American consumers access to Mexico’s favorable climate, while at the same time protecting American tomato growers by enforcing a minimum price floor that is applicable only to Mexican tomatoes. The suspension agreement also applies strict quality inspections, ensuring that only the best of Mexico’s tomatoes make it to American retailers.”
The associations say the consequences of this potential termination will be swift and significant.
“We have seen the volatile effects that an unregulated and unprotected supply chain can have on household necessities such as eggs. The suspension agreement has been working well, albeit quietly in the background, for 30 years to ensure stable tomato prices in the U.S. supermarkets despite the ups and downs of the economy,” the statement reads. “Mexican tomatoes will face steep tariffs, pushing prices up by 50% according to Arizona State University economists, well beyond the reach of most American families. The strong and growing demand for fresh tomatoes in the U.S. market simply cannot be met domestically, due to limited agricultural land and less-than-ideal growing conditions. The outcome will be an entirely avoidable, artificial shortage that will leave American consumers with limited access to fresh tomatoes, which will only be available for some months of the year at inflated prices.”
The Associations of Mexican Tomato Growers also say the FTE’s claim that the agreement has been impossible to enforce is untrue.
“The FTE also falsely asserts that the suspension agreement has been ‘impossible to enforce and easy to evade,’” the associations said. “This statement is contradicted by Commerce’s own findings, time and time again, that there has not been a single violation of the suspension agreement by the Mexican tomato growers, and that the suspension agreement is in fact working as intended. Simply put, there is no reason to terminate an agreement that has successfully served the American public for decades.”
The Associations of Mexican Tomato Growers plan to fight to protect the agreement, noting it is too important for the U.S. and Mexico to not throw it aside to the detriment of thousands of U.S. jobs and American consumers seeking fresh tomatoes at affordable prices.
