A Massive Avocado Shortage Is Hitting Restaurants Hard This Season

If you tried to order avocado toast for brunch last weekend and were dismayed once you saw the price, you’re not alone. As reported by USA Today, according to David Magaña, vice president and senior analyst at Rabobank in California, the price of avocados has been skyrocketing recently. In the first week of July, the wholesale price of a 25-pound box of Mexican avocados was $84.25; last year, the same box would have cost $37 — a pretty steep climb. And while millennials are certainly willing to pay exorbitant prices for their side of guac, it’s getting a little out of hand.

The price increase isn’t an arbitrary phenomenon. The rising global popularity of avocados has played a major role, as well as a seasonal drop in avocado production in Mexico, and the smallest crop in California in years. Demand is simply outrunning supply, and many restaurants have been frantically trying to maintain their avocado stock while also managing the astronomical prices. Many establishments have raised the prices of their menu items, some are eating the extra cost and taking a financial loss, while others have removed avocados from their menus entirely.

Hopefully the crop improves soon, because there’s no way we’re eating green pea guacamole, no matter how good people at The New York Times tell us it is.