Acreage Allocation Analysis of Florida’s Winter Tomato Production

Abstract

Ever since the US/Cuban Embargo of 1962, the U.S. winter tomato market has been almost equally shared by Mexican and U.S. producers. The weather requirements of this vegetable are such that during the winter seasons the state of Florida is more or less the sole domestic producer of this crop. This study attempts to explore and identify the factors that influence the acreage allocation of the U.S. winter tomato production. Given the geographical concentration of this crop, this study focuses on four major tomato production regions of Florida. To this end, an annual panel data set is used to probe the regional tomato production dynamics of Florida through the span of 36 years. This analysis accounts for competitive crops, own price, import regime changes, input costs, population pressures, as well as other regional specific variables. The results suggest that there are several regional differences within state production, as well as the presence of structural sensitivity regarding import regulation changes.