LIVING
The world is facing a ******* shortage
By Reuters
February 7, 2018 | 10:57am
iStockphoto
AMATITAN, Mexico – In the heartland of the ******* industry, in Mexico’s western state of Jalisco, a worsening shortage of agave caused by mounting demand for the ****** from New York to Tokyo has many producers worried.
The price of Agave tequilana, the blue-tinged, spikey-leaved succulent used to make the alcoholic *****, has risen six-fold in the past two years, squeezing smaller distillers’ margins and leading to concerns that shortages could hit even the larger players.
In front of a huge metal oven that cooks agave for *******, one farmer near the town of Amatitan said he had been ****** to use young plants to compensate for the shortage of fully grown agave, which take seven to eight years to reach maturity.
He asked not to be identified because he did not want his clients to know he was using immature plants.
