Climate Change Could Affect Avocado Production

The drought is hitting a little closer to home for people who like avocados. Avocados are in short supply and it’s only expected to get worse, meaning higher prices for local businesses and grocery shoppers.

At Taqueria San Miguel in Thousand Palms, Manager Efrain Romo said he’s paying more for avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions due to the state’s drought.

Now scientists are predicting climate change could bring warmer weather causing a 40% drop in avocado production in the next three decades. Not good news for customers such as Gilbert Soto who said avocados and other produce is already expensive enough.

“Yeah, it’ll affect me a lot. I love avocados,” said Soto, “I eat it almost every day, and its good for you and I eat it a lot,” he added.

Chipotle is also taking notice of the possible climate changes. The restaurant said it uses 97,000 pounds of avocados a day, That’s about 35 million pounds of avocado every year.

In its annual report Chipotle warns: “In the event of cost increases with respect to one or more of our raw ingredients, we may choose to temporarily suspend serving menu items, such as guacamole or one or more of our salsas, rather than paying the increased cost for the ingredients.

However, the company says it’s not planning to remove anything from its menu yet. And at Taqueria San Miguel, the manager says they don’t plan on cutting back or passing on the higher costs to its customers. They say it would take a lot to make such a dramatic move.