Jalapeno Pepper Production Area Faces Years of Drought
'Original' Huiphong Food Experiences Production Disruptions for 3 Years
Items Listed on eBay at 10 Times Original Price
Sriracha sauce, one of the most popular sauces in the United States and well known in Korea, is experiencing a shortage. This is due to several years of drought in the production areas of its key ingredient, red jalape?o (chili) peppers.
On the 29th (local time), US broadcasters CBS and CNN reported that Sriracha sauce is currently facing a shortage in the United States. Commonly seen in pho restaurants, Sriracha sauce contains chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and salt. However, droughts have persisted for years in the red jalape?o pepper production regions of California, New Mexico, and parts of Mexico, causing supply issues for the ingredients.
The most representative Sriracha sauce manufacturer, Huynh Phong Foods, located in Irwindale, California, known as the 'original' Sriracha sauce producer in the US, has been struggling with production difficulties for three years. Famous for its rooster logo, this company has used up to 50,000 tons of jalape?os annually, but consecutive poor harvests have made it impossible to procure the necessary amount of ingredients. As a result, last year, the company had to completely halt Sriracha sauce production for six months.
A spokesperson for Huynh Phong Foods recently announced that production has resumed on a limited basis but added, "Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw materials. At this point, we cannot predict when supply will increase."
In the United States, Sriracha sauce is as widely used as ketchup. Given the situation, resellers believe there are people willing to pay much higher prices than usual to purchase Sriracha sauce, leading to cases where prices have been marked up nearly tenfold for profiteering, especially online.
Sriracha sauce typically costs less than $5 (about 6,500 KRW) per 17-ounce (approximately 481g) bottle, but on the e-commerce platform eBay, 17-ounce and 28-ounce (approximately 793g) bottles are listed at prices ranging from $39.98 (about 52,000 KRW) to $70 (about 92,000 KRW) per bottle. Additionally, on Amazon, a seller has listed two bottles of Sriracha sauce bundled together for $124.95 (about 165,000 KRW).
As the Sriracha sauce shortage continues, CBS reported that one consumer posted on Twitter, "Due to climate change, Sriracha has been added to the list of things I won’t be able to enjoy for at least two years."
The more pessimistic reality is that the chili pepper harvests in the US Southwest and Mexico are not expected to improve anytime soon. In a weekly weather and crop report released on the 27th, the US Department of Agriculture evaluated Mexico’s conditions, stating, "Unseasonably hot and dry weather is stressing summer crops almost nationwide."
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