Canadians may have to turn down the heat on their plates this summer as hot sauce makers struggle with supply chain issues.
A drought in Mexico and depleting levels in the Colorado River have led to a dwindling supply of hot peppers being exported to both the United States and Canada. Canadian hot sauce makers estimate that the issues will persist for at least another month — but this is only the latest in a growing string of challenges for the industry.
The disruptions in the supply of peppers, particularly red jalapenos, have been reported for over a year now, but media reports said fresh supply chain disruptions have been turning up the heat for producers in the United States over the last few months.
Nadia Harlow, the owner of Spice of Life, a hot sauce manufacturer based in Pefferlaw, Ont., said her business is also feeling the bite.
“I have faced challenges trying to get peppers. I’ve had to discontinue one of my popular sauces, just based on the fact that I just cannot find the peppers for that,” Harlow said.
While she tries to buy more Ontario-grown peppers, the growing season in the province is shorter and so fully replacing the supply chain isn’t feasible.
“That’s just a few months of the year, it’s not very long. So we do have to import,” she said.
“We rely on distributors to bring them in. It has been challenging.”
More than 44 per cent of municipalities in Mexico were in drought in May, according to Mexico’s National Water Commission. Chili peppers, especially red jalapenos, have been in short supply.
Harlow said she expects the supply to pick up again in another six to eight weeks, when Canadian growers start picking peppers from farms by August. But it remains unclear if there could be more supply issues once the Canadian growing season ends.
She also has words of solace for customers looking for a dash of heat with their meals.
“In the meantime, they can go for my milder hot sauces. It’s not my ‘million plus,’ which has ghost peppers. But my regular hot is pretty hot still,” she said.
“So we could maybe hold them over for a few more weeks.”
In April 2022, California-based Huy Fong Foods, which produces the popular Sriracha hot sauce, put out a statement warning consumers of shortages.
“Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili,” the manufacturer warned.
“Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products.”
Last week, American media outlets quoted a Huy Fong spokesperson saying that while “limited production” had recently resumed, they were still facing supply chain issues.
“Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying by NBC News.
According to reports, Sriracha bottles were selling for as high as $120 online in the United States. In Canada, listings on Amazon and eBay haven’t yet hit that price point, but two-packs of Sriracha are going for close to $40.
Drew Jacobson, owner and operator of Hurt Berry Farms Inc., was saved from the worst effects of the Mexican drought because he grows his own peppers. But Jacobson said the industry has faced supply issues since the start of the pandemic.
“The price of the peppers has gone up because of scarcity. So, what a lot of Canadian makers are doing now, and what we’ve decided to do over the last few years, is start growing our own,” Jacobson said.
“A lot of makers now are just saying, well, why are we spending the extra money when we can just do it ourselves? We have a lot of new Ontario and Canadian pepper farms showing up on the scene.”
Harlow said she hopes this will lead to a stronger local supply.
“I’ve noticed in the last five to seven years, a lot of the farmers are switching to greenhouse-grown produce. And the peppers are absolutely beautiful.”
Jacobson added, “I think we can grow a lot of things here. There’s actually a producer in Ontario growing bananas in greenhouses. I always say we can grow everything here, we just have to put the money and the effort.”
— with files from Associated Press