After tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada went into effect Tuesday, Americans including Southern California families will likely feel the impact in a matter of a few days.
As data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows Mexico supplies the U.S. with over 50% of its fresh fruit imports and nearly 70% of fresh vegetable imports. The tariff hikes mean grocery staples like tomatoes, onions, strawberries and even avocados will become more expensive.
A pound of strawberries cost $3.99 and one avocado cost $1.49 Tuesday afternoon at an Albertsons grocery store in Long Beach. But if Southern California families were to absorb the 25% tariff, the same amount of strawberries would become $4.98 while the price of one avocado will increase by over 35 cents.
Some grocery shoppers in Long Beach said they were already dreading yet another round of price increases at stores.
“It’s going to be a hardship,” said Diane Gregory, a woman on social security. “Things are as high as it is.”
Another shopper named Jill said she’s afraid health foods would become more costly.
“We should be encouraged to eat those things. 25% is a lot honestly.
Southern California produce companies said they are bracing for higher prices.
“We just have to accept the fact that it’s going to happen,” Monse Maldonada from Gomez Produce said. “What can we do about it? 80% of our store comes from Mexico. If it happens, we’ll just let consumers know.”
Retail giants also predict the higher prices from goods from Mexico, China and Canada will lead to higher costs for consumers over the next week.
“We depend on Mexico during the winter. We’re going to try to make sure we do everything we can to protect pricing. But if there’s a 25% tariff, those prices will go up,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC Tuesday morning.
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