--- title: Prepare Yourself for a Major Coconut Crisis in the Caribbean description: Experts warn of an impending coconut shortage in Caribbean plantations, which are struggling to keep up with demand for the trendy product. canonical: https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-12T20:12:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:36:26.593Z og:title: Prepare Yourself for a Major Coconut Crisis in the Caribbean og:description: New reports warn of an impending shortage of the trendy tropical product. og:url: https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte242d5e6bec5d641/6988a598f887dc03dce97601/split-coconut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3133 og:image:height: 1762 og:image:alt: Whole and split coconut og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Prepare Yourself for a Major Coconut Crisis in the Caribbean twitter:description: New reports warn of an impending shortage of the trendy tropical product. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte242d5e6bec5d641/6988a598f887dc03dce97601/split-coconut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Major Coconut Shortage With Global Consequences May Hit the Caribbean > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=74ab2dc4-f674-4138-8a79-96eeed47e8f2&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 12, 2016 8:12 PM UTC  Coconuts from the Caribbean are about to be much harder to come by. Coconuts from the Caribbean are about to be much harder to come by. DEA / STECIA—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 12, 2016 8:12 PM UTC If you depend on [trendy coconut water](http://time.com/3559621/coconut-water-nutrition/?iid=sr-link1) to stave off your morning hangovers, coconut oil to condition your hair, or [coconut milk to flavor](http://time.com/3695436/starbucks-coconut-milk/?iid=sr-link1) your lattes, you’ll want to start stocking up now on your elixir of choice, because the Caribbean is facing a serious shortage of the popular tropical fruit. An unfortunate trifecta of bad storms, problematic droughts, and an insect-borne fruit disease called “Lethal Yellowing” have all converged on the tropics to severely impact coconut farms’ production capacity, as locally, prices are up and supply is limited [Bloomberg reports.](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-09/just-when-the-world-craves-coconuts-the-caribbean-s-running-out) Caribbean plantations have already shrunk up to 17% since 1994, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization shared. “It’s fair to say that at this pace, the Caribbean is running out of coconuts,” a coordinator of a Trinidadian coconut research program told Bloomberg. This comes on the heels of a major boom in coconut consumption around the world. Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, [Rihanna](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/471632/madonna-rihanna-team-up-for-coconut-water-campaign), Gwyneth Paltrow, and Matthew McConaughey have endorsed the benefits of coconut-based products, and brands like Starbucks, [Vita Coco](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20401751,00.html), and Trader Joe’s are avidly catering to the growing demand for the “It” fruit. Coconut water alone is a nearly $4 billion industry, and the price of coconut oil has gone up about 50% since 2013, according [to _The Wall Street Journal_.](http://www.wsj.com/articles/coconuts-go-upscale-boosting-price-of-conventional-coconut-oil-1460017362) Outside of the Caribbean, coconut-producing regions like the Philippines and Indonesia [are also struggling](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/asia/philippines-coconuts/) as they deal with the longterm consequences of natural disasters and demand that is outstripping the pace of coconut trees’ growth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/"},"headline":"A Major Coconut Shortage With Global Consequences May Hit the Caribbean","datePublished":"2016-09-12T20:12:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:36:26.593Z","description":"All trends must die","url":"https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte242d5e6bec5d641/6988a598f887dc03dce97601/split-coconut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte242d5e6bec5d641/6988a598f887dc03dce97601/split-coconut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Whole and split coconut","caption":"Whole and split coconut","creditText":"DEA / STECIA—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4488043/a-major-coconut-shortage-with-global-consequences-may-have-hit-the-caribbean/","name":"A Major Coconut Shortage With Global Consequences May Hit the Caribbean"}}]}] ```