I’ve got an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you to stop what you’re doing and listen. This is important. Please try to keep calm despite the dire news. The world is facing a tequila shortage crisis. EVERYBODY PANIC!!!
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Because of the recent spike in global tequila sales there are reports that there may be a tequila shortage in the near future. The tequila market is estimated to by more than $9 billion by 2021. From 2002 to 2014, high-end tequila brands have grown 189% in volume and super-premium tequila has skyrocketed 568% in the same time period. However, tequila farmers can not keep up with the rising demand.
Tequila is made from the blue agave plant that can legally only be classified as tequila if it is grown in the following regions of Mexico: Jalisco, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, and Guanajuato. Tequila is produced from the sugars of the blue agave plant. There is a shortage of blue agave plants and thus an impending tequila shortage, which could raise prices of your favorite alcohol.
According to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) and the National Tequila Industry Chamber (CNIT), the 17.7 million blue agaves planted in Mexico in 2011 that were designated to be used in 2018 fall far short of the 42 million the industry needs to supply 140 registered companies. The shortages are expected to continue until 2021 because it takes years for agave plants to mature. Ideally, farmers need to give agave plants seven or eight years before they are harvested, and the older agave plants produce more alcohol than younger ones that are smaller. “They are using four-year-old plants because there aren’t any others. I can guarantee it because I have sold them,” said Marco Polo Magdaleno, an agave grower in Guanajuato and person who probably hates going to swimming pools.
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Tequila exports of pure tequila into the U.S. was up an astounding 198% over the past decade. Meanwhile, Mexican tequila production declined 4% over the same time. Besides the growing demand, farmers are dealing with a growing problem of theft. In 2017, approximately 15,000 agave plants were stolen, more than triple the amount that were stolen in 2016. This trend may cause smaller tequila companies to close up shop. EVERYBODY START STOCKING UP ON TEQUILA BEFORE THE TEQUILA ARMAGEDDON HAPPENS!!!
Tequila has been a growing luxury spirit and a money-maker for several big-name alcohol distributors. Last week, Bacardi bought Patron for a whopping $5.1 billion. Last year, George Clooney sold his tequila company, Casamigos, for $1 billion. Check out what the five types of tequila are HERE.
[Reuters]