As of August 21, 2025, producers in California were halfway through their processing tomato harvest and expecting gains in coming weeks.
The state’s Processing Tomato Advisory Board (PTAB) recorded 846,707 tonnes in deliveries in the just ended 8th harvest week.
By the 9th week on August 28, deliveries will apparently hit 845,278 tonnes, bringing the provisional tally to 5,300,269 tonnes.
This estimate indicates the lowest Week 9 of the harvest in the last three years, down by some -11% margin.
There are mixed expectations, however, for the final harvest totals – either for low hauls or record surpluses.
Some processors think it might be hard to achieve the May 2025 forecast by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). On May 29, the NASS predicted 2025 production at 10.3 million tonnes on a pre-production contract basis, a -7% yearly fall.
The PTAB in its part predicts a final production surplus beyond the above target, to at least 10.5 million tonnes.
No Price Impact Despite Suspension Agreement & Ongoing Harvest
So far, neither California’s harvest nor an import agreement termination with the key origin of Mexico has lowered market rates.
In actuality, since the termination of the Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) with Mexico on July 14, 2025, prices have steadied.
The suspension slapped 17.09% duty on cross-border imports, whose impact is still slow owing to the increasing production stateside.
Both the East and West Coast of the United States normally pick tomatoes in summer, just when Mexico’s production downsizes.
Analysts therefore expect the suspension to fully bear on the sector late 2025 when output in California declines.
Field tomatoes were costing $1.793 a pound in July 2025, up from June’s $1.737, per the Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis.
Besides, the California Tomato Growers Association (CTGA) had on April 28, 2025 settled on a processor company base price of $109 a tonne. The Base price is different from the Organic price, which the association had not yet decided on this date.
So, as the California tomato harvest gets halfway, producers are recording steady contractual production targets and steady market prices. To learn more on their state’s production lead, read the below statistics.
California Tomato Statistics
California in the western United States produces 95% of federal tomatoes and around 30% of the worldwide output. Since the mid-2000s, the state has averaged between 10.1 million tonnes (2006) and 14.3 million tonnes (2015) of processed tomatoes. The vegetable grows mainly in the San Joaquin, Sacramento and Central Valleys of the state.
Has California’s tomato acreage changed much in the two decades ending 2025?
While California has enjoyed steady acreage since 2006, some years have shown dramatic rises. These include 2009 when acreage picked at 312,000 hectares (ha), out of which 308,000 ha underwent harvest. The following data by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) offers an idea of changes during this timeline.
| Year | Planted Acreage [Ha] |
| 2024 | 228,000 |
| 2023 | 269,000 |
| 2017 | 230,000 |
| 2015 | 299,000 |
| 2014 | 292,000 |
| 2009 | 312,000 |
| 2006 | 283,000 |
Do tomato prices fluctuate much in the U.S.?
A 1985-2025 historical price timeline by the Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis reveals much fluctuation in domestic tomato prices. While in 1985 rates peaked at $1.194 a pound (lb), by 1990 they had soared to $2.631/lb. They hit rock bottom a year later in 1991 at $0.813/lb and by 2016 were back to $2.528/lb. The rates then simmered down to $1.737/lb in July 2025.