Bottles of the popular spicy Sriracha sauce could be hard to find on store shelves this summer.
Huy Fong Inc., based in Southern California, told customers in an email earlier this year that it would suspend sales of its famous hot sauce over the summer due to a shortage of peppers.
The company said in its April 19 email that all orders placed after that date would be fulfilled after Labor Day.
“Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we cannot produce any of our products,” the company said.
The company obtains its peppers from several farms in California, New Mexico and Mexico, and said the weather conditions are affecting the quality of the peppers and deepening the pepper shortage. He did not immediately respond to an email requesting comments on Thursday.
Warm temperatures and a historic drought in the western United States have severely affected California agriculture. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that the entire state was in “severe drought” last week, with the central valley facing “extreme drought” conditions.