ACADIANA (KATC) — Tomato lovers, brace yourselves. A new tariff on imported Mexican tomatoes is poised to drive up the price of everything from ketchup to salsa — and here in Acadiana, local shoppers and restaurant owners are already starting to feel the pinch.
This week, the U.S. formally ended a decades-old trade agreement with Mexico that had kept tomato import prices stable since 1996. The move paves the way for a new 17% tariff on most Mexican tomatoes — and considering the United States Department of Agriculture reports Mexico supplies nearly 70% of the tomatoes sold in the U.S., the ripple effects could be widespread.
Grocery shoppers like Alexandra Francis and Mitch Voorhies say they’re already seeing higher prices in the produce aisle.
“Everything is getting more expensive, first avocados, now tomatoes,” said Francis.
“Prices of groceries are just through the roof right now, it's crazy," added Voorhies. "A lot of working people, you know, I don't know what we're gonna do, things keep going up."
At Champagne’s Market in Carencro, store manager Brandon Hollier says the store is working hard to keep prices as low as possible — even if it means making less profit.
“Nine times out of ten, it’ll be less margin on our end,” Hollier said. “We can’t stop prices from rising, but we can soften the blow — by making a little less per item.”
For shoppers, it could mean a 10% increase in raw tomato prices, but the jump might be even steeper for processed products like pizza sauce, ketchup, salsa, and other staples that rely on imported tomatoes.
The new tariff is part of a broader effort by the federal government to crack down on “dumping” — when foreign producers sell goods at artificially low prices, undercutting domestic farmers.
That’s good news for Louisiana growers like Brandt Robin, who farms in St. Landry Parish.
“It’s a falsehood that’s been enacted the last 30 years,” Robin said. “American vegetable growers can’t compete with the labor or influx Mexico has… Tomatoes are one of the most sought after and most profitable crops there is.”
While the full impact of the tariffs is still unfolding, suppliers say more changes could be coming in the weeks ahead as inventories shift and the market adjusts.
For Acadiana families already stretching their budgets, even a few cents more at the grocery store can quickly add up.
