East Coast receivers paid sharply more for tomatoes this month as summer growing regions wound down fast. USDA movement out of Tennessee dropped 53% to 5.4 million pounds over the 30 days through Oct. 21, while Alabama fell 47% and South Carolina eased 22%. Of the 25 largest month-over-month moves on U.S. terminal markets, 20 went up — mature greens gained roughly 20% or more in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston.
The Southeast is showing up on both sides of the ledger: less volume shipped and the biggest terminal price gains landing in Columbia, Raleigh, and Atlanta. Central California is still the largest domestic shipper at 40.8 million pounds, but that's 20% below the month before. Canadian fruit continued crossing in volume through Detroit and Buffalo, though Blaine, WA was down 40%.
Three years of USDA data confirm Florida and Georgia are the two origins that carry through December — worth monitoring as Florida mature greens are already up 13% at shipping points with the fall crop getting started. Buyers east of the Mississippi should be lining up fall sourcing now before the handoff window tightens further.