8 Items You Might Not Find in Your Grocery Store (and Why)

Your next grocery run might not have a 100% hit rate. The pandemic upended global supply chains in 2020, causing long-term food shortages and other disruptions to our shopping trips. The chaos continues, though with different complications.

On October 1, thousands of dockworkers went on strike against U.S. ports. The strike has been suspended until January 15, but items shipped internationally by boat have been delayed. And climate change continues to affect the yield of many crops that comprise our grocery staples, like sugar and coffee.

Here are products that might be uniquely hard to find and the reason behind each shortage.

What food shortages might be affecting your grocery store?

1. Toilet paper

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People nationwide report that toilet paper supplies are low or nonexistent at their local retail outlets, and many took this to mean that the dockworkers’ strike would prevent toilet paper from reaching store shelves. That’s incorrect, according to CNN. Instead, because people thought toilet paper might be affected by the strike, they panic-purchased a bunch of it, causing a shortage for others. The majority of toilet paper comes from domestic manufacturing facilities, so hopefully, depleted stores will receive shipments soon.

2. Bottled water

One of the many devastating effects of Hurricane Helene is that it damaged or destroyed water lines and treatment plants, leaving residents in its wake without access to clean water. In these times, bottled water is the only viable option, so supplies have dwindled where they’re needed most. Further out from the storm’s path, bottled water might also be low in areas where shoppers mistakenly believe the dockworkers’ strike could lead to a water shortage, but most leading bottled water in the U.S. comes from domestic sources.

3. Wheat

Ukraine is such a major exporter of wheat and corn that the country’s flag has a yellow stripe symbolizing wheat fields beneath a blue sky. These crops, and the ability to export them, have been severely impacted since 2022 by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to steeper prices on domestic bread products. However, as of August 2024, Reuters reports that Ukraine has steeply increased its grain exports and hopes to continue the trend into next year.

4. Eggs

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As explained by CNN, egg prices were at their peak in late 2022 and early 2023 due to the avian flu outbreak that forced farmers to cull birds from their flocks and reduce the overall number of eggs being produced. That was also at a time when inflation caused the price of chicken feed to spike, meaning that eggs had to be more expensive to cover those costs. In 2024, inflation and grocery prices have stayed relatively steady, but eggs are still priced quite high because of avian flu, which has caused multiple years of pared-down flocks and, consequently, a continually shrinking egg supply.

5. Sugar

In 2023, India, the second largest producer of the world’s sugar, banned sugar exports in order to satisfy domestic demand after a season with bad growing conditions and a low-yield harvest. This year, Reuters reports the ban is likely to extend another year, leaving much of the world to depend on the top sugar producer, Brazil. But drought conditions in Brazil have lowered its sugar yield, too, meaning that increased prices and possible shortages could soon be a reality.

6. Chocolate

In late July, Fortune reported that Swiss chocolate brand Lindt predicted a global slowdown in the chocolate market due to high prices on chocolate caused by increasingly expensive cocoa beans. According to Fortune, prices of cocoa beans have nearly doubled in the last year as West Africa, a major exporter, experienced poor harvests from erratic rainfall and high temperatures. Bloomberg reported this month that the harvest for the 2024-25 season is looking better than last year.

7. Bananas

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With the dockworkers’ recent strike affecting 36 U.S. ports, this fruit hangs in the balance. Morning Brew explains that bananas were quickly affected by the strike because they are shipped exclusively via boat (shipping by air is too expensive) and have a short shelf life, meaning grocery stores couldn’t stockpile them in anticipation. In the short term, you might see fewer bananas at your local grocery store.

8. Sriracha

While the LA Times reported in 2023 that Huy Fong Foods was affected by a chile pepper shortage due to drought in Mexico, its popular Sriracha hot sauce returned to store shelves in early 2024—only to have production halted again in May. As reported by the Washington Post, Huy Fong sent a letter to distributors in May notifying them that the peppers used in Sriracha failed to ripen in time for harvest thanks to ultra-high temps and dry conditions; the peppers’ still-too-green shade would result in discolored hot sauce. Production was halted, with a return to shelves promised after Labor Day.

While some shoppers have reported sightings of new Huy Fong shipments, sauces may have a brown or green tint thanks to the peppers used.

Why are these grocery items in short supply?

A combination of climate change, political decision-making and labor concerns have all contributed to grocery staples being in short supply or available at high cost. It’s unclear how soon each of these factors might be resolved. For example, once the dockworkers and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed to postpone the strike until January, the containers sitting at port began shipment to grocery stores. Something like the egg industry, where the avian flu outbreak has required culling more than 100 million birds, could take several seasons to right itself.

As seen during the pandemic, countless global factors impact the supply chain, and addressing each interconnected issue takes time. Shoppers can help by resisting the urge to panic-buy and purchase only what they need during times of scarcity.