Avocados, are scarce at the Ingardia Bros. Produce Inc. warehouse in Santa Ana on Monday, October 10, 2016. Prices are rising because of a shortage from Mexico. (Photo by Mindy Schauer,Orange County Register/SCNG)

Gene Bianchi owner of Bianchi Farms shows one of his ripe avocados at his avocado farm in De Luz Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

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Grocery Outlet in Orange, which is known for its extreme discounts, is selling large avocados from Chile and California for $2.50 each, or 2 for $5. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A shortage in California avocados is causing suppliers to look early for other supplies. Grocery Outlet in Orange is selling large avocados from Chile and California at 2 for $5. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Gene Bianchi owner of Bianchi Farms checks to see if his avocados are ready for harvest at his avocado farm in De Luz Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG



Rancho Mission Viejo Farm Manager Derek Knobel stands in the company’s avocado fields in Orange County on Wednesday, September 20, 1017. The price of avocados has increased and the recent export agreement that the U.S. reached with Colombia might have an impact on local growers. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Rancho Mission Viejo avocado fields in Orange County are tended to on Wednesday, September 20, 1017. The price of avocados has increased and the recent export agreement that the U.S. reached with Colombia might have an impact on local growers. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

It wouldn’t be late summer without a surge in avocado prices.

But don’t panic just yet. Trendy avocado toast and guacamole are not expected to disappear from your favorite restaurant. The shortage comes as California supplies are drastically low, triggering demand for avocados from Mexico and Peru.

But imports have been inconsistent. With the California season winding down, the industry is facing a perfect storm.

“The avocado market is crazy right now,” said Robert Schueller, a spokesman for Melissa’s Produce in Vernon.

Melissa’s, which supplies premium fine dining restaurants in Southern California, typically sells a case of avocados for $30 to $40. On Wednesday morning, the price shot up to nearly $120, he said.

Dave Samuels, a sales manager at Ingardia Bros., said the Santa Ana produce company is selling avocados at $98 a case. That’s about $20 more than the company’s previous record-breaking high of last October when Mexican supplies were running short. In mid-summer, the price per case was at $59.

The crop shortage is impacting some grocers.

At Stater Bros. stores in central Orange County, a medium Hass is selling for $1.50, while an organic Hass is $1.99. On Instacart, Costco is selling a 6-count bag of Hass avocados for $9.19, about $3 more than normal.

Ralphs shoppers are still getting a deal. A store in Los Angeles was selling four avocados for $5.

Volatile prices can be blamed on a dismal California harvest, which started in February.

Crews picked more than 200 million pounds of avocados this year, compared with 400 million pounds last year, said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission.

She said trees were stressed after five years of drought. Extreme heat in July 2016 also hurt this year’s crop.

Global supplies also are down.

For the week of Aug. 20, the Hass Avocado Board projects 2.5 million pounds of avocados will enter the U.S. market. For the same period last year, the volume was 7.7 million pounds. That includes supplies from California, Mexico, Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru, and New Zealand.

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Walmart expands curbside grocery pickup to 26 stores in California The Golden State produces about 90 percent of the nation’s avocado crop. The shortage is triggering produce companies and retailers to transition to other sources including Mexico, where avocados are grown year-round.

Ingardia’s Samuels said “demand for Mexican avocados” is driving higher prices.

Shipments from Mexico reached 26.3 million pounds for the week of Aug. 13. That’s up from 21.9 million pounds for the same week in 2016.

Still, imports have been unreliable. Peru also had a poor season, and right now the avocados from Mexico are not large enough, Samuels said.

Schueller said prices will remain high until Mexican supplies stabilize in the next few weeks. “Relief in pricing will start after Labor Day. The market will not totally heal until late September.”

To ease the pain, Ingardia is offering its restaurant clients a deal. The company is selling 100 percent fresh Hass avocado pulp for $4.40 a pound, about half the cost of a buying the whole fruit, Samuels said.

California’s avocado season resumes in November, but supplies won’t peak to levels of a million pounds per day until March. DeLyser said next year’s crop looks more promising thanks to heavy rains this past winter.

That’s good for the industry as consumption of the fatty green fruit is on the rise.

According to the Hass board, average weekly consumption in the United States is 42 million pounds. That’s up from 23 million pounds per week three years ago. By 2019, U.S. consumption is projected to grow to 50 million pounds per week, according to statistical research firm Statista.