The rapidly growing greenhouse tomato industry has become an important part of the North American fresh tomato industry. Greenhouse tomatoes now represent an estimated 17 percent of U.S. fresh tomato supply. Even though greenhouse tomatoes still constitute a minority share of the U.S. fresh tomato market, their influence is concentrated and growing in retail channels, which represent about half of U.S. tomato consumption. Around 37 percent of all fresh tomatoes sold in U.S. retail stores are now greenhouse, compared with negligible amounts in the early 1990s.
Greenhouse tomatoes can be seen as just one more development in a trend toward more differentiated fresh tomato offerings, including more variety in field-grown tomatoes. New types of tomatoes, improved varieties and handling, and positive health benefits associated with eating tomatoes have all contributed to a 30-percent rise in U.S. consumption of fresh tomatoes since 1985, with estimated 2003 annual per capita consumption levels around 8.8 kilograms (19.4 pounds). Growth in the greenhouse industry has challenged growers of fresh field tomatoes. With rising consumption of all tomatoes, field tomato sales in the U.S. retail market increased through 2001, in part due to new fresh field products, such as grape tomatoes. But in 2002, the combined retail sales volume of all field tomato types began to slip. Field tomatoes still dominate the growing foodservice market (restaurants, schools, hospitals, etc.) where greenhouse tomatoes are scarce. Foodservice sales are increasingly essential to the health of the field tomato industry.