Avocados Are About To Get Even More Expensive

The avocado-pocalypse is upon us.

Just when you thought guacamole couldn’t get more expensive, data from the Hass Avocado Board indicates that avocado shipments from Mexico to the U.S. dropped drastically this month. As a result, prices are soaring.

Avocado shipments from Mexico to the U.S. in the first week of October were almost half of what they were last year ― down to 22.9 million pounds compared to 44 million pounds in 2015, as Pasadena’s ABC-7 reports.

The decrease in supply has hit buyers hard. According to CBS Los Angeles, restaurant owner Sammy Montoya paid $72 for a case of avocados just last week. This week, Montoya says the price jumped to $105 ― a 45 percent hike.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like avocado prices will be making a comeback anytime soon.

Climate change has taken its toll on avocado production. Massive droughts and record-high temperatures in California and Mexico have decimated the water-intensive crop. Unfortunately, the avocado’s falling production coincides with its growing popularity in America.

“In the 1990s, the average American ate about 1.5 pounds [of avocado]; in 2012, he ate 5 pounds,” The Atlantic reported last year.

The specter of an avocado shortage has been looming for several years now, with The Atlantic noting the fruit “may soon become a luxury item.” In 2014, Chipotle warned that climate change and rising avocado prices could spell the end of their famed guacamole. And as The Atlantic points out, scientists have predicted the worst for California crops like avocados, almonds and oranges for years now.

Nevertheless, it’s a sad day for avocado lovers everywhere. Cherish your guacamole while you still can, folks.

H/T The Atlantic