We are truly being tested in our commitment to our global village economy. First we were waiting for months for those poor cranberries to break through the bottleneck caused by the unrest in the Middle East. And now (well actually they overlapped a bit) we have Brazil nuts also being trapped in political and various other forms of unrest.
Considering the sheer volume of chaos going on in the world - topped now of course by the urgency of the World Cup - you may well be excused for not being aware of what has been going on in Bolivia and affecting the arrival of our Brazil nuts for the year.
Bolivia has been in a state of unrest for several months with widespread anti-government protests, stemming from a massive economic crisis (Bolivia's debt is now 95% of their GDP) and the removal of government petrol subsidies which caused fuel prices to virtually double. There have been roadblocks all over the country, cutting off the capital La Paz for 3 weeks. Shops have run out of supplies and hospitals were running low on oxygen.
Just a couple of days ago the President declared a state of emergency which allows the military to clear blockades and get supply routes moving again.
Hopefully this results in some resolution of the issues troubling Bolivian citizens.
What is also means, is that our Brazil nuts are on the road again. They go to a port in northern Chile and from there across the Pacific. There will of course be a backlog, but we now anticipate our Brazil nuts getting here in mid-September.
Fingers crossed, and let's also say some prayers / hold in our hearts/ send loving thoughts to the people of Bolivia because they seem to have bigger problems than some missing organic nuts.