Hurricanes put squeeze on tomato harvest

A US tomato shortage brought on by Florida’s rash of hurricanes and a nagging pest in Mexico is being made worse by a bruised and rotting harvest in California.

Two to three inches of rain have brought picking to a standstill for more than a week, dropping production by nearly 40% for the normally busy October. The month is a crossover one for the nation’s top two tomato producers, with California dominating the market from June to October and Florida vice versa.