Sriracha shortage keeping palates cool, prices high

If you want the spice, be prepared to pay the price.

The iconic sriracha hot sauce made by California’s Huy Fong Foods continues to be in short supply this summer.

Huy Fong stopped production of the sauce last summer citing a shortage of red jalapeño chiles caused by climate change in Mexico. The brand reportedly resumed limited production in the fall, “but is still experiencing a short supply of the chili pepper,” according to forbes.com.

Good luck finding that distinctive bottle bearing a green cap and image of a strutting rooster anywhere in town. The product is currently listed as “out of stock” on the heb.com website.

Even if you can track the trendy condiment down, it’ll cost you dearly. A pair of 17ounce

bottles was priced at $83.99 on Walmart’s website Wednesday afternoon. A bargain hunter could pay $29.50 for a 9-ounce bottle at amazon.com, but shipping could take until the end of August.

You might have better luck on the black market. Facebook Marketplace user Brian Cato posted an ad in San Antonio reading, “Unopened Sriracha. News tonight said going for $120 a bottle. I’ve seen it on eBay for 300. I’m saying $100 OBO.”

Cato’s price for the 28-ounce bottle has since been cut to $80. Similar Facebook ads from across Texas are seeking $20 for a 9-gram packet and $30 for a 17-ounce bottle.

While sriracha sauce and

Huy Fong Foods are synonymous in the United States, the condiment predates Huy Fong’s 1980 founding by at least four decades.

In a 2013 article published in “Bon Appetit” magazine, respected food writer Andrea Nguyen stated the sauce was first developed by Thanom Chakkapak in the community of Si Racha in Thailand.

Chakkapak, Nguyen said, made the sauce for her family and friends, who encouraged her to produce the spicy elixir commercially. Chakkapak’s sauce would go on to become the best-selling chile sauce in Thailand.

These days, near-countless variations of sriracha sauce exist in the U.S. market, despite the Huy Fong version’s ubiquitous presence on tables and counters across the country.

H-E-B lists a half-dozen options from bottlers including Diamondback, Polar, Roland and Yellowbird — all priced between $3 to $6. And right now, that sounds like one sweet deal for a hot and spicy time.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A shortage of red jalapeño chiles caused by climate change in Mexico has made sriracha hot sauce hard to find.