Florida tomato industry makes plea to trade for relaxed standards
Florida tomato industry makes plea to trade for relaxed standards
As the Florida produce industry begins its recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, members of the state's tomato industry are fearful of a crisis situation if quality standards are not eased while growers attempt to regroup.
"The key factor we are going to face this year is meeting the grade demands for U.S. No. 1 tomatoes for the retail and foodservice industries," said Reggie Brown, manager of the Florida Tomato Committee in Maitland, FL. "We will be bringing tomatoes to market in the next few weeks and into the coming months, but because of the tremendous amount of damage to Florida tomato crops caused by Hurricane Wilma, it is going to be hard to pack even as much as 75-80 percent high-grade product. We need people to work with us this year, or it will turn into an even greater crisis than it already is for our industry."
Danny Raulerson, director of marketing and international trade for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, concurred with Mr. Brown about growers having supplies of tomatoes this season.
"It's important that retailers and the trade know that Florida will have tomatoes," said Mr. Raulerson. "There was extensive crop damage along Hurricane Wilma's path, but it is not a complete loss. Some plants will recover, and others have already been replanted."
FFVA conducted an early crop damage estimate, which will be compared to assessments from other organizations and agencies in the coming days. The association's figures indicate that the damage to the vegetable industry in south Florida exceeds $400 million in market-value dollars.
"We arrived at this figure by taking a five-year average of yields and of prices from national agriculture statistics which are posted on the Internet," said Mr. Raulerson. "We took the number of acres affected by Hurricane Wilma and calculated from that data."
The largest amount of damage was done to the tomato crop, according to Mr. Raulerson. Next, in order of the most damage done to a crop, are sweet bell peppers, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, squash and leafy varieties of lettuce.
Mr. Brown said that the report sounds accurate, and he agreed that most damage was done to the tomato crop. "We cannot stress how important it is that the trade work with us until growers in the state are back on track," he said. "The market is going to need Florida tomatoes, and we will do our best to bring the highest grade possible to market. But if repackers have to discard tomatoes that are slightly lower grade than usual, it will develop into a shortage, and one that will end up costing everyone along the supply chain. We're going to do our best to avoid that situation, and we're asking that others also do whatever they can to help until this crisis passes."
Mr. Brown said that the Florida Tomato Committee would hand out a press release at the PMA Fresh Summit expressing its concern over the grade issue and making a plea to help the Florida industry.
The domino effect from weather conditions like hurricanes tumbles deeply into areas other than crop damage. More than 300,000 farmworkers tend Florida's fresh vegetable fields during the winter growing season -- more than double the off-season population. Workers lost an entire week of work following the storm, and many were displaced because of damage to their homes.
The state's citrus crops also suffered major damage from the storm. Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest member organization in the citrus industry, issued a report stating that crop damage stands at approximately $180 million -- about 17 percent of what was included in the crop report issued last month by the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. That report came in as the second-lowest citrus crop since 1944-45, primarily because of damage done by storms during the 2004 hurricane season. The extent of the permanent damage to the citrus industry may not be known for months, however. Winds and rain cause canker disease to spread, and reports of new disease finds caused by the 2004 storms have been ongoing occurrences throughout 2005.
The industry is also now faced with citrus greening, a disease carried from tree to tree by insects, and which is considered much more devastating than canker because it destroys fruit and trees within a short time of the initial infection.
As of Nov. 1, 404 trees in 268 commercial and residential properties statewide had tested positive for citrus greening.
"The key factor we are going to face this year is meeting the grade demands for U.S. No. 1 tomatoes for the retail and foodservice industries," said Reggie Brown, manager of the Florida Tomato Committee in Maitland, FL. "We will be bringing tomatoes to market in the next few weeks and into the coming months, but because of the tremendous amount of damage to Florida tomato crops caused by Hurricane Wilma, it is going to be hard to pack even as much as 75-80 percent high-grade product. We need people to work with us this year, or it will turn into an even greater crisis than it already is for our industry."
Danny Raulerson, director of marketing and international trade for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, concurred with Mr. Brown about growers having supplies of tomatoes this season.
"It's important that retailers and the trade know that Florida will have tomatoes," said Mr. Raulerson. "There was extensive crop damage along Hurricane Wilma's path, but it is not a complete loss. Some plants will recover, and others have already been replanted."
FFVA conducted an early crop damage estimate, which will be compared to assessments from other organizations and agencies in the coming days. The association's figures indicate that the damage to the vegetable industry in south Florida exceeds $400 million in market-value dollars.
"We arrived at this figure by taking a five-year average of yields and of prices from national agriculture statistics which are posted on the Internet," said Mr. Raulerson. "We took the number of acres affected by Hurricane Wilma and calculated from that data."
The largest amount of damage was done to the tomato crop, according to Mr. Raulerson. Next, in order of the most damage done to a crop, are sweet bell peppers, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, squash and leafy varieties of lettuce.
Mr. Brown said that the report sounds accurate, and he agreed that most damage was done to the tomato crop. "We cannot stress how important it is that the trade work with us until growers in the state are back on track," he said. "The market is going to need Florida tomatoes, and we will do our best to bring the highest grade possible to market. But if repackers have to discard tomatoes that are slightly lower grade than usual, it will develop into a shortage, and one that will end up costing everyone along the supply chain. We're going to do our best to avoid that situation, and we're asking that others also do whatever they can to help until this crisis passes."
Mr. Brown said that the Florida Tomato Committee would hand out a press release at the PMA Fresh Summit expressing its concern over the grade issue and making a plea to help the Florida industry.
The domino effect from weather conditions like hurricanes tumbles deeply into areas other than crop damage. More than 300,000 farmworkers tend Florida's fresh vegetable fields during the winter growing season -- more than double the off-season population. Workers lost an entire week of work following the storm, and many were displaced because of damage to their homes.
The state's citrus crops also suffered major damage from the storm. Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest member organization in the citrus industry, issued a report stating that crop damage stands at approximately $180 million -- about 17 percent of what was included in the crop report issued last month by the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. That report came in as the second-lowest citrus crop since 1944-45, primarily because of damage done by storms during the 2004 hurricane season. The extent of the permanent damage to the citrus industry may not be known for months, however. Winds and rain cause canker disease to spread, and reports of new disease finds caused by the 2004 storms have been ongoing occurrences throughout 2005.
The industry is also now faced with citrus greening, a disease carried from tree to tree by insects, and which is considered much more devastating than canker because it destroys fruit and trees within a short time of the initial infection.
As of Nov. 1, 404 trees in 268 commercial and residential properties statewide had tested positive for citrus greening.
