June 28, 2007

Virginia tomatoes are financially ripe

RICHMOND—Virginia’s fresh tomato industry continues to grow.

The red, zesty fruit is a multimillion-dollar business in the Old Dominion and ranks third nationally behind only Florida and California.

In 2006, Virginia growers harvested more than 5,800 acres of tomatoes that weighed 223 million pounds. The crop generated cash receipts totaling more than $98.7 million.

What makes those numbers so impressive is that in one year the industry grew by more than $10 million. In 2001, Virginia's tomato harvest was on 3,900 acres and generated $31.7 million in cash receipts. In five years, the value of production had grown by $67 million.

“In terms of growth in production we are seeing a direct link to demand for the product,” explained Gary Lucier, agriculture economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Demand has been strong the last 10 years or so, and we have gained about a pound-and-a-half per capita increase of consumption by the average consumer. Tomato markets are changing due to different varieties being grown, and that has an effect. Due to all those influences, production has increased.”

Weather is playing a key role in tomato production, said Dave Mueller, deputy director of the Virginia office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. “We are seeing a direct influence from a hot South and the tomato season coming to Northern states.

“Our numbers in 2004 were very comparable to 2006 figures,” Mueller added. “In 2004 we had $95.9 million in value of production for the state’s tomato crop. Still, $98.7 million in 2006 is our best year yet.”

Vegetables "are one of those commodities that have a window when they are a player on the East Coast,” he said. “When another state has had a bad year, other states succeed.”

The majority of the tomato acreage in Virginia is located on the Eastern Shore. Tomatoes also are produced in the Northern Neck and in Hanover County

By comparison, Florida produced 1.35 billion pounds of tomatoes in 2006, while California produced 1.15 billion pounds.

Contact Lucier at 202-694-5253, Mueller at 804-771-2493 or Sherri McKinney, VFBF video producer, at 804-290-1148.