--- title: A Major Avocado Shortage Might Hit for 4th of July Weekend description: A California heatwave has left many avocado growers with limited fruit to sell for the holiday. But there are still avocados from Mexico. canonical: https://time.com/4389855/a-major-avocado-shortage-might-hit-for-4th-of-july-weekend/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-30T17:20:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:57.287Z og:title: A Major Avocado Shortage Might Hit for 4th of July Weekend og:description: Thanks to a heatwave in California, we might need to start rationing guacamole. og:url: https://time.com/4389855/a-major-avocado-shortage-might-hit-for-4th-of-july-weekend/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f75c874b0bc7d7/69889a3af887dc7476e96771/sliced-avocado.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: An avocado contains about 27 calories and 37 grams of fat, b og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Major Avocado Shortage Might Hit for 4th of July Weekend twitter:description: Thanks to a heatwave in California, we might need to start rationing guacamole. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f75c874b0bc7d7/69889a3af887dc7476e96771/sliced-avocado.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Major Avocado Shortage Might Hit for 4th of July Weekend > Sponsored content. 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(Photo by Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images) Chicago Tribune—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 30, 2016 5:20 PM UTC With 4th of July coming up fast, it’s time to hit grocery stores to stock up for that all-American barbecue feast. On the menu: probably guacamole, the very non-American dip that has stolen hearts and taste buds across the country. But get to the store quickly, because the [_LA Times_ reports](http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-avocados-20160628-snap-story.html) we may be in for a serious avocado shortage, thanks to a record-breaking southern California heat wave that’s burned avocado trees and made fruit unfit for sale. Avocado sales “generally spike” over this holiday weekend, according to the _Times_, making this a potentially major setback for both growers and anyone whose barbecue plans included a side of [the superfruit](http://time.com/3922680/avocados-cancer-study/?iid=sr-link1). During the heatwave last week, temperatures in certain California growing regions reached record highs — up to 117 degrees — while strong winds further licked moisture from the land. If your patriotism doesn’t quite extend to the provenance of your BBQ ingredients, you might still be in luck, as over 80 percent of the U.S. avocado market is, in fact, made up of fruit from south of the border. But even growers in Mexico appear to have miscalculated the size of the market this year. “There are not enough avocados in the industry right now to supply the demand,” Heath Shoup, of a California avocado packinghouse, told the LA Times. And with the ongoing [popularity of dishes](http://time.com/88079/10-things-you-can-do-with-avocado/?iid=sr-link3) like avocado toast and avocado-based smoothies, that’s only set to rise. As for the future of avocado prices and availability? “We’ve been here for 25 years, and this has never happened before,” said Jeanne Davis, a California avocado grower. 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