Why fresh produce may cost more at the NC State Farmers Market this spring
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Fuel price increases since late February have raised farmers’ operating costs.
- Roberts Family Farms raised tomato and cucumber prices since last year.
- Farms also report higher costs for plastic, boxes, fertilizer and credit card fees.
Shoppers at the State Farmers Market may see even higher prices for fresh fruits and vegetables this spring.
Regular visitors to the Raleigh market may be used to paying more for foods there, compared to shopping at major grocery stores. But just as drivers are paying more at the pump, local farmers are facing higher costs of gas, diesel and other equipment needed to grow crops.
Prices of fuel have increased since late February, following the attack on Iran by U.S. and Israel. Iran has limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world’s oil supply is transported.
Higher prices at NC State Farmers Market
As of Tuesday, April 28, the average price per gallon of regular gas in North Carolina was $3.94, up from $3.88 a day earlier, according to AAA. Diesel cost $5.53 per gallon on average in the state Tuesday.
Some farmers try to absorb part of the higher costs, but they may have to pass some of it onto customers by raising prices.
Willow Spring-based Roberts Family Farms is paying more to heat its greenhouses where tomatoes and cucumbers are grown, Vivian Juarez, who helps with the farm, told The News & Observer.
Because of that, the farm has raised its prices of those two crops. Tomatoes are now $4.75 per pound, up from $3 per pound last year. A pound of cucumbers cost $1.49 last year. Now, the price is $2.49.
Roberts Family Farms isn’t the only seller at the market having to raise prices. Marshall Lee, a co-owner of Lee’s Produce in Dunn, told The N&O by phone that the farm has increased prices of crops by varying amounts.
“We hate to put it on the consumer, because I know they’re already struggling too,” Lee said. “But you know, it’s just part of life, I guess.”
Lee’s Produce may spend up to $10,000 per month on diesel and gas, Lee said. Filling up a tractor could cost $500.
“We’re still trying to produce what we normally do,” he said. “It’s just costing us more to do it.”
Why are prices increasing?
Fuel is only part of the problem. Lee’s Produce is paying more for plastic needed to grow crops and boxes to put the produce in.
And many farms, including Penny’s Produce in Willow Spring, have seen prices of fertilizer increase, Cassidy Johnson, who helps sell food for Penny’s Produce, told The N&O.
Penny’s Produce, which sells a variety of foods including strawberries and squash at the farmers market throughout most of the year, has raised prices, Johnson said. But the higher costs can’t be attributed to one thing. Even credit card transaction fees have contributed to the price hikes.
Johnson said the farm’s loyal customers would notice big upticks in prices.
“It’s just kind of what the farmers have to eat because you can’t go up [in price] so much here,” Johnson said. “People come out here every week, so you can’t adjust it like that.”
