Over the past few years, extreme weather in Mexico has disrupted tequila crop production, which could affect consumers’ margarita consumption this summer.
Everstream Analytics’ chief meteorologist Jon Davis says, “when large agave crops are needed to meet demand, the extreme weather in Mexico is increasing the problems and the potential for the scarcity of the product.”
According to Davis, drought can stress the succulent crop, adding that even crops like agave suffer when conditions are this bad.
During agave harvesting, the sap is extracted to produce pulque, a base ingredient in mezcal (or tequila).
Mexico is one of the world’s biggest agave producers, and it grows across most of the country except for its Northwest states.
Davis said, “Global demand for tequila has been on the high side during the past few years, which has increased the need for large agave harvests to fulfill demand.”
According to Davis, the issue is that Mexico is currently experiencing extreme dryness. Much of the country experienced a dry winter with temperatures significantly above average.
“Precipitation totals across much of the country have been less than 25% of normal with large sections having totals less than 10% and 5% of normal,” Davis said. “These are extremely low, and in many cases, record-setting over this long of a period – two and half months.”
The northwest of the country, including Baja California, which is not a major agave-producing region in Mexico, has been the exception to the dryness.
According to Davis, the arid conditions have been accompanied by winter temperatures that are substantially above average, particularly in one town in southern Mexico, which is a significant agave-growing region.
“An example of the extreme heat occurred in late February (Feb. 27) when Puente Mezcal reached a high temperature of 110.5 degrees,” Davis said. “This was the hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere during the month of February.”
Due to the extreme dryness and hot winter, Davis says soil moisture reserves have been depleted throughout Mexico, aggravating the drought.
As the dry pattern persists throughout the spring, Davis said there is little indication that the situation will improve.
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