Why is gasoline weighted more heavily than tomatoes in a calculation of the annual inflation rate in the united states

Great Question!

While tomatoes are an essential good product, the increase in price of Gasoline have far more wide-ranging effects on the national economy.

An increase in the price of Gasoline, increases the cost of transport and every mode of transport running on Gas.

Running agricultural machinery becomes more expensive, running transport lorries and buses becomes more expensive and even air travel and cost of sea shipping increases.

It all adds up to increasing the cost of almost everything that is important, exported or simply travels within the country