Climate change affects tomato crops and ketchup price in United States

Text: Correspondent Iara Siqueira Whether in a sandwich, salad, pasta or pizza sauce, tomato is the darling of the Americas, and its derivative is ketchup. Americans consume more than 13 pounds of the vegetable a year, three-quarters of that in processed form. By the way, climate change can be a big problem for tomato processing (ketchup type). Researchers work so that America's favorite fruit is unaffected by climate change, yet tomatoes are susceptible. According to a study published in the journal Nature Food, the three largest “baskets” of tomatoes in the world could fall by 6% of production. The United States (California) is responsible for 90% of processed tomatoes, followed by Italy and China. However, California, with its high temperatures, with 95 degrees, affects the tomato crop. High temperatures and lack of water are a serious problem for the plantation. For the agricultural consultant of the University of California, Tom Turini, explains “with the extremely high ...