Mexican avocados: American imports are picking up

The avocado inspection program in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, has restarted and avocado exports to the United States have resumed.

 

APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, announced on Friday, February 18 that its avocado inspection program in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, restarted and avocado exports to the United States resumed.

 

The collaboration between APHIS, the United States Embassy in Mexico, SENASICA, the Mexican National Plant Protection Organization and APEAM, the Association of Producers and Exporters of Avocados of Mexico, has led to the adoption of additional measures that improve the safety of APHIS inspectors working in the field in Mexico.

 

The threats made against an American employee on February 11 had led APHIS to suspend the control of Mexican avocados and therefore to interrupt American imports.

 

In 2021, the United States imported avocados worth USD 3.0 billion, including USD 2.8 billion for Mexican avocados (i.e. 92%). In volume, the United States imported 1.2 million tonnes of avocados, including 1.1 million from Mexico (89%). In 2020 and 2021, around 80% of the avocados exported from the state of Michoacán went to American markets.

 

The peak growing season for avocado in Mexico is from January to March, while the American avocado production season is from April to September.

 

 

source : aphis.usda.gov