Coconut shortage hits Caribbean; trendy health-food aisle could be next

It’s the scariest thing to face the Caribbean since Johnny Depp’s eyeliner in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The area known for coconuts is battling a serious shortage of its signature crop. Sorry, coconut milk and water lovers. The serious shortage comes following a multipronged attack of storms, droughts, bugs and the creepy-sounding Lethal Yellowing, a disease that kills palm trees. Result: Caribbean plantations have already shrunk up to 17% since 1994, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. “It’s fair to say that at this pace, the Caribbean is running out of coconuts,” a Trinidad-based agriculture researcher told Bloomberg. That doomsday forecast comes at the worst time, since coconut products — water, milk and oil — are supertrendy. Thanks to stars like Rihanna and Gwyneth Paltrow and chains like Starbucks the ungainly looking tropical fruit is now a seemingly superhealthy must-consume. As with any supply-and-demand equation, fewer coconuts mean higher prices. If you’re loco for the coco(nut), you may need to dig deeper.

Source: nydailynews.com
Full Article: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/coconut-shortage-hits-caribbean-health-food-aisle-article-1.2790168