La Jornada: Price of tomato will drop after national agreement: Sheinbaum

With the national agreement on tomatoes, its price will continue to decline – after it was once sold for 100 pesos per kilo and is now 48 –, in addition to reducing intermediaries and avoiding speculation, said President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.

He stated that with farmers, representatives of supply centers, markets and self-service chains they seek to encourage production, and before exporting, prioritize sales in the national market, “so that there is no shortage in our country.”

In addition, there will be training and actions to guarantee planting and harvesting and stop the increase in prices, which includes lowering the cost of inputs.

When asked in the morning, he commented that it is difficult to define a price for tomatoes, “but if there is more production, it will go down.”

In some places, he highlighted, “it was sold for 100 pesos per kilo, outrageous!, but the national average was 58 and right now it is 48.”

The President maintained that “the objective is long-term” and there is permanent work with producers and marketers.

He acknowledged that “there is a certain shortage of tomato because a little less was planted this year; in addition (that) a plague arrived – from Florida – mainly to Sinaloa and (that) also raised prices in the United States.”

With the agreement signed yesterday with 18 of the 25 producing states, “what we are looking for is to reduce intermediaries, to have a direct agreement between the producer and whoever sells the tomato, be it a supply center, self-service store, flea market or any other form of marketing,” he highlighted.