Tomato price through hothouse roof

The price of tomatoes is going through the glasshouse roof, thanks to the rising cost of three key elements, says one of the country’s biggest tomato growers.

Simon Watson, managing director of NZ Hothouse, said the number one reason for more expensive tomatoes was more expensive, and very scarce, labour.

The cost of fertiliser and of energy had also jumped, with fertiliser up 81% in the past year. The three items accounted for 60% of the price of tomatoes on the shelf, Watson said.

The price of tomatoes rose nearly $4 between July and August alone, according to Stats NZ.

That 29.7% price rise, from $12.75 for a kilogram to $16.54/kg, was the biggest by far in the food price index.

Two years ago, tomatoes rose 38% between July and August but that was from $9.86/kg to $13.65/kg. Adjusting for inflation, using the Reserve Bank inflation calculator, that was still lower than this year’s prices.

The price of many food items is is rising quickly but tomatoes are leading the way. They are up 162% since 2009, when food inflation was the same as it is now, beating cabbages (up 138.1%) and capsicums (up 118%). The price was rising because there was a shortage of tomatoes, for a number of reasons. Labour was ‘‘incredibly short’’ across the whole economy, not just horticulture, because the Government had kept the borders closed for too long, Watson said.

‘‘We advertise week after week and can’t get any replies. It is not even a case of what you are paying.

‘‘Labour is a third of our sales value.’’ Because growers could not guarantee they could plant, pick or process their crops, they were planting fewer tomatoes, resulting in a crop reduction of about 15%, he said. ‘‘Growers have been very careful how they spend their money, because costs have gone up far, far quicker than the value of the tomatoes.’’

Disease was a constant threat but growers had learnt how to manage it so it was less of a problem than in previous years.

Last year, pepino mosaic virus (PEPMV) was found in a number of commercial tomato glasshouse facilities. The diseased tomatoes are still safe to eat but it damages the plant and affects production.

Despite mostly being grown in glasshouses, tomatoes were still a seasonal crop and were always more expensive in winter. That was due to the reduced amount of light, which tomatoes required for photosynthesis. Supplementary lighting was too expensive to install and run, Watson said.

According to international price comparisons by e-commerce site Picodi.com, the price of tomatoes has risen around the world. In Turkey they were up 121.6% in July compared with the start of the year, up 30.6% in New Zealand and up 26.4% in Australia.