A shortage of cilantro has led to a rise in the price of the herb, making tacos more expensive in Mexico.
DON GONYEA, HOST:
In Mexico, the price of cilantro has reached unprecedented heights, and that’s a problem because cilantro is essential to Mexican cuisine. Emily Green reports from Mexico.
EMILY GREEN, BYLINE: Go to any taco stand in Mexico and you’ll find three condiments: limes, onions and cilantro.
CARMEN ARRIOLA: (speaking Spanish).
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GREEN: Carmen Arriola sells tacos on a busy street in Mexico City.
ARRIOLA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: Except now she doesn’t put cilantro on her tacos.
ARRIOLA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: “The price of cilantro is skyrocketing right now,” she says. A package of cilantro that used to cost about $7 now costs almost $30.
ARRIOLA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: She says she’s never seen a price this high before. I visit my local market to find out more.
NORMA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: Senora Norma runs a vegetable stand. She said the price increase was a result of the drought and heatwave that swept the country. But the situation really came to a head in Mexico City after heavy rain and hail drowned crops, creating a shortage.
NORMA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: “It was the rains and the heatwave,” she says. “Climate change is why the price of coriander is so high. Yet,” she says, “people continue to buy it.
NORMA: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: “In the Mexican diet, cilantro is at the heart of everything,” she says, “along with avocados, lime, tomato and onion.” I should add here that not everyone likes cilantro. There is an unfortunate subset of people who think it tastes like soap, including a few members of my family. But they are in the minority. At a food stand at the market, I ask Guillermo Flores what he thinks about life without cilantro. He is a doctor and has lunch at one of the stands.
GUILLERMO FLORES: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: “The food doesn’t taste the same,” he says.
(Speak spanish).
Is a taco without cilantro worth it? – I ask.
FLORES: (speaking Spanish).
GREEN: “Oof,” he says. “We eat them out of necessity, but they’re not really tasty.” And There you go. Life without cilantro just isn’t as good.
For NPR News, I’m Emily Green in Mexico.
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