Good Grief It's The Great Pumpkin Shortage

CNN Money:

Pumpkin crops are down by about a half this year and the harvest concluded this week, much earlier than normal.

That won't make it hard to find the pumpkin you'll need for a jack-o-lantern on Halloween. But don't wait to get your canned pumpkin to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Libby's, the unit of Nestle (NSRGF) that has an estimated 80% of the canned pumpkin market, says that it thinks it will have enough canned pumpkin to make it through Thanksgiving, but the short harvest means it will be tight.

"We're disappointed that the yields this year are less than we anticipated," said Roz O'Hearn, spokeswoman for Nestle. "We won't have much 'reserve' stock -- if any at all -- to carry us into the new year."

That means when stores sell out, they'll likely be out until next year's harvest. Not that pumpkin pie is a major staple for Easter or Memorial Day.

The shortage won't hurt the supply of Halloween decorations is because the pumpkins used in your pies are very different than the ones you carve for Halloween...

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