Bowls and smoothies made from the Amazon berry açaí have change into ubiquitous in lots of cities throughout the US, however shoppers might imagine twice about shelling out after Friday when a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil kicks in.
Almost the entire açaí pulp bought within the U.S., in addition to in Europe and Asia, the place folks have additionally developed a style for the tangy fruit, comes from Brazil.
If no commerce deal is reached between the Trump administration and the Brazilian authorities, the bowls might value considerably extra at a whole bunch of outlets from New York to Los Angeles.
“People already complain a bit about the price. If it gets more expensive, I guess it will become more of a luxury thing,” mentioned Ashley Ibarra, who manages a Midtown Manhattan retailer owned by Playa Bowls LLC, a New Jersey-based firm with round 300 retailers within the U.S.
With toppings like banana and granola, a bowl of açaí prices round $18 at Playa Bowls in New York.
Competitor Oakberry Inc., the world’s largest açaí chain with 700 shops in 35 international locations, sells a smaller portion at a close-by Manhattan retailer for $13.
Playa Bowls declined to touch upon the tariffs, and Oakberry didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Açaí corporations tout the product as an vitality booster, a strong antioxidant and a supply of Omega-3 and different vitamins. The Meals and Drug Administration mentioned extra analysis is required to guage its attainable well being advantages.
“A friend introduced me to it one day, and I loved it, so I occasionally buy it,” mentioned Milan Shek, 50, who was having an açaí bowl combined with cereals and contemporary fruits one current afternoon in New York.
With a big markup, he mentioned he would most likely eat it much less typically.
Brazil’s manufacturing and exports of açaí have skyrocketed in recent times.
The berry went from being an area delicacy in small cities within the state of Para the place it’s largely grown, to a broadly fashionable deal with throughout Brazil. Quickly, exports started to be despatched to different international locations.
Manufacturing elevated from round 150,000 metric tons 10 years in the past to just about 2 million tons final 12 months, based on knowledge from Brazil’s statistics company IBGE and the governments of Para and Amazonas.
The U.S. is the biggest overseas purchaser, adopted by Europe and Japan.
Nazareno Alves da Silva, head of the Amazon Açaí Producers Affiliation in Para, mentioned corporations have been calculating methods to take up such a big value enhance with a view to proceed exports to the U.S. He wasn’t optimistic.
“Right now, we still don’t know how to do it. The numbers don’t match,” he mentioned.
The commerce would get too costly for a lot of U.S. importers, whereas Brazilian producers can be unable to chop costs sufficient to accommodate the tariff, he mentioned, including that producers would seemingly have to search out different markets.
Even these with out an açaí behavior are prone to really feel the pinch of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Brazil.
The South American nation provides a couple of third of the espresso consumed within the U.S., in addition to orange juice and beef.
