Most of the tomatillos consumed in the United States are imported from Mexico, and most of those are consumed by the Hispanic population living in the United States. Those who grow tomatillos in the United States are starting to see that if they want the product to become more popular, the general population must become interested.
Demand has stabilized
“Demand for tomatillos has kind of leveled off in the last five or six years,” said Randy Bailey of Bailey Farms in North Carolina. Bailey is one of the few tomatillo growers on the East Coast, and he explained that he started his tomatillo program 25 years ago when he saw a need in the market. The growing Hispanic population on the East Coast helped him grow his program to 100 acres, but now that consumption is no longer increasing, Bailey thinks more education about the product is needed.
“I think the product has room for growth among the general population,” said Bailey. “People just need to learn what to do with it, so we try to educate them via our website and hope they pay attention to how the cooking shows are using tomatillos more. People don't automatically correlate tomatillos with salsa verde, so it's just an education thing.”
Heat affects volumes
Growing tomatillos is not an easy endeavor, as the plants are notoriously fickle. High temperatures in North Carolina this summer have made that difficult task even tougher. As a result, yields and volumes are down, so much so that Bailey has had to import product from Mexico to round out his supplies this season.
“Everything has been down in volume this year,” said Bailey. “We've had some heat issues that have stressed the plants, and that has decreased yields.”
For more information:
Randy Bailey
Bailey Farms
+1 919 690 1524