Question

A frigid Florida winter is taking its toll on your sandwich. The sunshine state is the main U.S. source for fresh winter tomatoes, and its growers lost some 70 percent of their crop during January’s prolonged cold weather. The average wholesale price for a 25-pound box of tomatoes is now $30, up from $6.50 a year ago. Florida’s growers would normally ship about 25 million pounds of tomatoes a week; right now, they are shipping less than a quarter (8million). High demand has driven up prices and wholesalers are buying from Mexico. Based on that, some restaurants provided tomatoes only on request.

1. Using the information above find the demand and supply curves in the market for winter tomatoes.

2. Calculate the price elasticity of demand for winter tomatoes as well as elasticity of supply using the midpoint method.

Answer 1