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To: W. Randy Gast who wrote (5418)	3/11/2001 8:28:25 PM
From: CH4	Respond to of 5827

Why Your Tequila Shot Is So Expensive ... By Patagon.com Staff ... 2/25/01 ... What's better than drinking some good tequila with old friends? Not much, apparently, since so many folks seem to be doing exactly that. Still, as President George W. Bush and President Vicente Fox gather for a meeting in Mexico, drinkers of Mexico's most renowned drink haven't had much reason to celebrate lately. Although production of the popular spirit has grown 83% from 1995 to 1999, its price has skyrocketed too. Couple that with a proliferation of elite brands, and the art of tequila shots starts to feel more expensive than ever. The drink's wild success is creating its own problems that are putting in peril the finances of its main producers. Tequila is produced by using the nectar distilled from blue agave, which is mainly cultivated in Jalisco, a state located on the pacific coast of Mexico. There are other types of agave and from them different drinks can be produced, such as mezcal. There are two kinds of tequila: regular tequila, which can contain up to 49% of sugars that don't come from agave, and tequila that's 100% from agave. The type of aging process the drink undergoes can also produce variations. The rising popularity of tequila caught some farmers by surprise, who had chosen to plant other crops with more immediate cash turnaround at a time when there was an abundance of agave. Now they are being forced to play catch-up to meet demand. The scarcity of agave has led farmers to increase the price of their prized crop. Diseases have also destroyed some crops, thus aggravating the situation. Last year was particularly hard for tequila drinkers as its price rose by 46%, while other alcoholic beverages rose only by 14%. Those outside Mexico have suffered as well. Between 1995 and 1999 production of tequila for domestic consumption grew by 135% while production for the international markets grew by 51%. It's likely both the drink and its price will continue to make people dizzy in the next few years. www.patagon.com is a financial news and information company that publishes in Latin American countries. thestreet.com ... original report