Avocado Prices Are Officially Insane

This is modern tragedy; if you've been to a grocery store lately, you've likely experienced the upset. You walk through the produce aisle, calmly passing by cheap peaches and reasonably priced bananas. Then, you see them, and your heart sinks: Avocados, the creamy, healthy, fat-filled fruit, are more expensive than ever thanks to nationwide shortages. In most stores, just one fruit (which consists of a meager two servings) is sold for around three dollars.

The reason behind this travesty is the weather. A devastating heat wave wiped out sources of nearly 90 percent of America's avocado supply — cooking Californian and Mexican farms with record-breaking heat for weeks. Mexico is responsible for sending us an impressive 80 percent of our avocados, while California grows approximately 10 percent.

So the drought hit the avocado market where it hurts. And the effects of the warm weather conditions have caused chaos in many a local supermarket. For a retailer to purchase an avocado in the current market, they have to fork out two dollars to farmers and distributors. So if the store then sells the avocado at their usual two dollar price, they aren't breaking even.

Since mid-July, prices have soared 75 percent due to the shortage — making guacamole a delicacy that, if this continues, might end up paralleling caviar. Get your chips and guac while you can, and try one of our 50 insanely good guacamole recipes while you can afford to.