Avocados could vanish in 3 weeks if U.S. closes Mexico border

Avocados could be short supply if the U.S. closes the border with Mexico. Avocados could be short supply if the U.S. closes the border with Mexico. Photo: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Photo: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Image 1 of / 22 Caption Close Avocados could vanish in 3 weeks if U.S. closes Mexico border 1 / 22 Back to Gallery

Enjoy your avocado toast and guacamole while you can.

If President Donald Trump follows through on his recent threats to completely close the border with Mexico, the effects would be wide-ranging. But one lesser-known impact is that the U.S. could run out of avocados in less than a month.

Steve Barnard, president of Mission Produce, the world's largest avocado grower and distributor, told Reuters that America's avocado supply would be gone after about three weeks if Trump closes the border.

"You couldn't pick a worse time of year because Mexico supplies virtually 100 percent of the avocados in the U.S. right now," Barnard said. "California is just starting and they have a very small crop, but they're not relevant right now and won't be for another month or so."

The president's threat comes as he attempts to force Mexico to halt all illegal immigration.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week," Trump tweeted on Friday. "This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and 'talk.' Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!"

The price of a border closure could be high: The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that in 2017, the U.S. and Mexico traded about $557.6 billion in goods.

Losing the avocado trade would be severely felt in the U.S., where avocado consumption has skyrocketed in recent years. A staggering 1.7 billion pounds were exported from Mexico to the U.S. in 2017 alone.

Of course, the effect of a border shutdown would hit many other foods as well. According to the Department of Agriculture, 70 percent of our vegetable imports and almost 40 percent of fruit imports were imported from Mexico in 2017.