SoCal avocado growers are bracing for their leanest year in nearly two decades.
San Diego County is the nation's leading avocado-producing region, with 24,000 acres devoted to growing the green fruit. But this year, effects from the 2007 wildfires, water restrictions and heat waves last spring will take their toll on what can be harvested, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The last time the outlook for growers was so bleak was in 1990 when a deep freeze devastated local avocado groves, according to the newspaper.
Statewide, the California Avocado Commission estimates that avocado growers will make about $220.5 million this year compared to slightly more than $327 million last year, the Union-Tribune reported.
The lack of locally grown avocados is not expected to affect consumers, however. Consumer demand will be met by imports from Mexico, according to the newspaper.
