Florida's freeze being felt here

Hola, Mexican Romas.

A stretch of freezing weather in January bid adios to much of Florida's tomato crop. That's meant tighter supply and higher prices for restaurants, grocery stores and consumers.

"The freeze we had in January went all the way down to Miami," said Andrea Limehouse of Limehouse Produce in North Charleston. Tomatoes, green peppers and yellow crookneck squash suffered the brunt of the damage.

That has put pressure on Mexico to supply the entire country, Limehouse said. A large crop of Roma tomatoes is coming from south of the border, and are the least expensive tomato available, she said.

Prices for those are way above normal, however. She said Romas are running $30 for a 20-pound box, 2 1/2 to three times higher than average.

Shoppers are forking out about $1 more per pound for tomatoes than usual at this time of year, said David Smith, assistant director of produce for Piggly Wiggly Carolina, which operates 110 stores in the Southeast.

At the Johns Island Piggly Wiggly, large USA tomatoes were selling this week for $2.99 per pound, Mexican Romas for $2.49, and stem tomatoes, also from Mexico, for $3.99.

Tomatoes are still coming out of Florida, Smith said, but the cold wiped out about 70 percent of the winter crop, mainly around Sarasota and Tampa. "In this industry, that's a pretty good loss," he said. Piggly Wiggly, too, has turned more to the Romas and hothouse tomatoes in recent weeks.

Local restaurants are feeling the squeeze, Limehouse said. "Some of them are not using tomatoes at all. It's more of a quality issue. It's an awful long ride from Mexico to get here."

David Odle, CEO of Andolini's, which has five restaurants in the area, said fresh tomatoes are a huge part of his business.

There's been no disruption in supply, but costs have soared, he said. "It's literally doubled in the past two weeks on a case of tomatoes," from $20 to more than $40. Green peppers have risen about 75 percent.

Andolini's has absorbed the increase so far, he said. "We don't want to react too quickly. ... It's hard to raise prices in a recession, something no one likes to do."

The restaurants also use a lot of canned tomatoes, and Odle expects to see an impact on them soon.

Green peppers and yellow squash also are fetching record high prices, according to Limehouse. Zucchini normally comes out of Mexico this time of year, so it's not experiencing the same volatility, she said.

A market rebound isn't likely until mid-April, all agree. Prices may moderate in the short term because demand is dropping, Limehouse said.

"The only thing that has stopped the market from going completely crazy has been the weather up north," she said. "People don't buy tomatoes in snowstorms."