The price of tomatoes in Brazil

Something rather strange is going on around here right now. Everyone is taking about tomatoes! Specifically, everyone is talking about how the price of tomatoes in Brazil has gone through the roof! Here’s an example:

Precious crop. “I was going to buy you a diamond ring, but preferred to buy you a tomato.”

And this was the situation in a supermarket in Rio last night:

R$12.79/kg tomatoes. This converts to US $6.43/kg or approx $3 for a pound of tomatoes.

Comparing prices between Brazil and the US probably doesn’t tell us much here, so let’s take a look at how the prices have fluctuated within Brazil over the last few years:

Kudos to the friend of Drunkeynesian who made this tomatograph – nice work! 

Inflation was a serious problem in Brazil in the 80s and 90s and even now it remains a concern (it’s currently standing at 6.3%). So is it time to start bulk-buying gold and preparing to pay for our daily bread with wheelbarrows full of rapidly depreciating cash?

Not quite. The word on the street is that the price of tomatoes in Brazil has gone up so dramatically because of poor weather conditions. A drought during planting season and then heavy rains during harvest were partly responsible. The weather also encouraged bacterial diseases that further lowered productivity, so it seems that the standard laws of supply and demand are being cited to explain the price hike.

So what are we to do? Surely we can’t pay those prices can we? I’ve heard talk of tomato boycotts and pizzas made with white sauce, but can I suggest a radical alternative?

Money doesn’t grow on trees. But tomatoes do! Well, they grow on plants, but you get the idea.

Yes, at the risk of sounding smug (sorry), I had a flash of prescience a month or two ago and planted tomatoes. I am now reaping the benefits and plan on holding a series of tomato auctions in the coming weeks. I will probably spend my profits on a Rolls Royce and an executive jet.

For those of you who can’t afford this precious crop, you can at least feast your eyes on some more delicious pictures!

This was my very first harvest (I’m expecting yields to improve). I washed this down with a 1984 Château Latour…

If you aren’t into horticulture, don’t worry too much – Tomato pundits (I want that job) are predicting that prices will come down in May.