California’s historic drought is stunting the production of tomatoes used in restaurant kitchens around the world.
A quarter of the world’s tomatoes come from the Golden State, but the worst drought in 1,200 years is hurting its ability to cultivate more of the crop, according to Bloomberg News.
The outlet reported that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) anticipates that this year’s harvest will fall below its estimate of 11.7 million tons.
The USDA’s May report on tomato production said that a lack of water is the main issue facing producers, which was compounded by unusual weather patterns such as a hot stretch in March and an unusual freeze in April.