Mexico is a major destination for apples, pears and quinces from the U.S

In 2020, supplies from the United States of apples, pears and quinces reached $994 million, decreasing 12.1 % compared to the previous year.

Although the majority of US production is destined for domestic consumption, exports of these products play an important role.

The US is one of the world's leading producers of apples and pears, with a combined annual production of $3 billion, according to the International Trade Commission (USITC),

The main recipients of pears, quinces and apples in 2020 were Mexico ($310 million), Canada ($209 million) and Vietnam ($63 million).

Although the US is a major supplier to several destinations, the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) in the European Union has contributed to a substantial decline in US deliveries there, as informed local producers.

An MRL is the highest level of residues of a pesticide on a crop that is legally allowed by the jurisdiction of a government.

The US, which had previously been the third largest US apple export market, has significantly reduced its imports of American pears and apples in recent years, from $20.9 million in 2012 to $2.2 million in 2020.

As a result, producers have moved shipments to less restrictive MRL markets and conducted pre-export testing to reduce the probability of MRL violations.

While Mexico is the second largest destination for the US for agricultural production, US exporters of the mentioned fruits did not identify a problem with the Mexican MRLs, so Mexico often harmonizes their MRLs with the US MRLs, and industry stakeholders reported very few challenges with the Mexican MRL regulatory process.

Since 2010, foreign deliveries of US apples, pears and quinces had totaled more than $ 1 billion.

source: opportimes

photo: moneycontrol