You say "tomato" and I say "jitomate"

I guess it is a slow news day in El Norte, but I did hear something about a Supreme Court ruling and a Contempt of Congress vote.  Hey, I'd vote for that.  I hold contempt for Congress, too.

Here, sure there is tons of political news with the election coming on Sunday.  And of course, everyone is talking about the weather and all this rain, but this story from El Imparcial caught my eye.

In the last 15 days, a kilogram of tomatoes rose from 6 to 21 pesos, affecting the economy of the housewives of the capital. A seller of vegetables and legumes, Alejandra Riveras, noted that imported tomatoes from the interior of Mexico State are a more expensive product.

This is due - said the seller - to resellers in the State of Puebla who are hoarding all the tomato production of the State and other entities and "what little is left for consumption is very expensive."

 Think about that... hoarding tomatoes.... you can see from the photo that just a few weeks ago one could buy three kilos for ten pesos.  Now, one kilo is 21 pesos!  You know what this means... war!

Actually, this is no joking matter.  People and businesses can't afford that dramatic a price increase and tomatoes are almost a staple here.