An avocado black market is raging in New Zealand
American millennials may have ruined mayonnaise, but at least they haven't launched an avocado black market.
That's what's happened in New Zealand, as low avocado harvests has driven the average cost of one fruit to $3.30. New Zealand refuses to import the toast-topper, jacking prices up 37 percent in the past year, The New York Times reports.
Guacamole lovers have tried to avoid high prices by growing their own avocado trees, but they are often put on a waitlist at nurseries, the Times says. Others see an opportunity to turn green into gold and have started nabbing avocados in the night: Two thieves were recently caught smuggling $4,300 of avocados out of an orchard in duvet covers, the Times reports. Another pair tried using a hook to pull fruits off a tree and escaped on a mobility scooter.
These thieves' plots may have been smashed, but one farmer reported 70 percent of his avocados were stolen last year, per The New Zealand Herald. Growers have taken to surrounding trees with razor wire or installing security systems to protect their crops.
The sheer volume of these stolen avocados suggests they're likely sold in small shops or used for food service. "It's clearly not for their own consumption," Alasdair Macmillan, New Zealand's coordinator of community policing, told the Times. "You can only put so much avocado on your burger or in your sushi," Macmillan continued — indicating he's never seen the full power of a dedicated millennial mind.