Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri drivers are getting a break at the pump, with gas down by 13-15 cents across all types, according to AAA. However, consumers could see higher grocery prices because of how expensive diesel is.
“I think this is affecting all retail, not just grocery,” CEO and president of the Midwest Retail and Grocery Alliance, Dan Shaul, said. “The cost of transportation is figured into everything from blue jeans to lead acid batteries to your bananas, your tomatoes, in this case.”
AAA reports diesel in Missouri is $5.10 a gallon, which is down 15 cents from a week ago, but it’s still $1.91 more now than it was in 2025.
Shaul said Midwest retailers are working to keep prices reasonable.
“When they’re paying diesel fuel costs over $5 a gallon to get it from the point of the manufacturer, or where it’s grown to the consumer, it’s certainly going to have an effect, and we’ve seen that certainly recently,” Shaul said.
A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows annual inflation rose by 3.8% before seasonal adjustment over the past year. The report also notes that the index for food at home rose 2.9% over the last year, with fruits and vegetables rising 6.1%.
Tomatoes have seen a jump in price, partly because of crop failure and partly because of the cost to transport the vegetable.
Tony “Tomato” White is a farmer from St. Louis. He told ABC 17 News that frost killed thousands of tomato plants in Florida earlier this year, which put more pressure on retailers to buy from Canada and Mexico. However, the quality of the vegetable wasn’t as good.
“You saw some really inferior tomatoes that were selling for $4, $5 a pound, I mean it was ridiculous,” White said.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the national average is $2.56 a pound for tomatoes, the highest it has ever been.
White said his tomatoes are doing well, and he only had to raise his prices by 25 cents following the Florida freeze in February, mostly because of increased demand and partially because of gas prices.
“We’re very fortunate because we don’t have that travel time. That tomato we talked about from Mexico, well, it takes two or three days to get here,” White said.
He said his customers, mostly chefs who work in esteemed kitchens, were pushed to order a few more pounds of tomatoes so fewer delivery trips needed to be made.
“If we can cut back on our own gas expenses, then we’re going to be able to help you out,” he said.
As for tomatoes in grocery stores, White estimates prices could go back down within the next month or so once crops start to mature.
“When we get into mid-July, there will be a glut of tomatoes back on the market locally, and then that puts less demand for the stuff from Canada,” White said.
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