Holy Guacamole! Where Have All The Avocados Gone?

There is an Avocado shortage across the nation and it has hit too close to home

If you've been to Qdoba lately, you've seen this alarming sign that reads, "Avocado Uh Oh!"  This is a real thing people.  You can't order guacamole because there is a NATIONAL shortage of avocados.  What will we dip our delicious tortilla chips into?  Is this real life?  How will we survive?  Why did this happen and who is responsible?!

Before anyone freaks out, here are the facts:

• Because Mexican growers are getting paid like crap, they decided to go on strike because no one wanted to raise the price of avocados.

Ordinarily, about 40 million pounds of avocados are transported from Mexico to the U.S. per week, but just two weeks ago only about 13 million pounds of the fruit arrived. - NBC 7

• 80% of American avocados are grown in California but the recent drought has slowed down production
• The average price for a carton of avocados is $40 but local suppliers are seeing them sell for $120.  This puts them in a tough position because they are having to choose between losing money or raising their prices.

Chipotle says they won't let this shortage rain of their parade:

“We do not plan to raise prices for guacamole (we don’t typically raise prices in response to short-term cyclical changes in food costs) and have not incurred any supply disruptions,” a spokesperson from Chipotle - Business Insider.

It sounds like we are going to have to go without avocado, pay more, or go to Chipotle.

We understand how you feel Paula, we finally understand...