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Fla. tomato supply should pick up by April
March 3, 2010
Florida's fresh tomato production should pick up by April as growers in southern Florida begin harvesting a new crop, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bad weather in the state reduced the supply by about 70 percent, impacting the supply chain for some quick-service restaurant chains, including Wendy's. The chain's restaurants have posted signs informing customers of the shortage and that tomatoes will be provided only upon request if supplies are low.
Burger King restaurants nationwide also have experienced sporadic shortages of tomatoes. Some chains, including Subway, have turned to Mexico for sourcing, but Burger King has not because of the lack of consistent quality of round tomatoes.
　
Subway spokesma Les Winograd said the chain traditionally transitions its tomato purchasing to growing regions other than Florida this time of year, so its supply has not been severely impacted. "We are supplementing our tomato purchases by buying additional varieties of tomatoes that may be more readily available," he said.
　
Reggie Brown, executive vice president of Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, told the Wall Street Journal that the price of tomatoes has almost quadrupled compared with this time last year, with a 25-pound box of tomatoes trading for $30 vs. $6.45 a year ago. Prices should fall by next month once crops in the southern portion of the state are harvested. The price of ketchup and other tomato-derived products should not be impacted, since California is the main producer for those products.
　
Other chains have not been impacted by the reduced tomato supply from Florida, including Hardee's, Carl's Jr. and McDonald's. Jenna Petroff, spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, said the company has not had "to deal with any of the pricing, availability or quality issues with Florida tomatoes because ours are sourced from other locations."
Ashlee Yingling, spokeswoman for McDonald's USA, said, "It's business as usual for us."
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