US resumes avocado imports from Mexico

The United States reactivated, as of this Friday, avocado exports from Mexico, after six days of preventing those shipments.

Thus, fresh Mexican Hass avocados from Michoacán will once again enter the United States duty-free.

Producers pay the Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocado of Mexico (APEAM) five cents per pound of exported avocados to cover the inspection fees of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Fresh avocado imports into the United States are not subject to any tariffs.

But they are subject to phytosanitary and sanitary inspections by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and by certifications from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

APHIS determined to «immediately» resume its inspection program for avocados in Michoacán.

Avocado imports

The USDA forecast for Mexican avocado production in the 2021/22 (July/June) cycle is 2.33 million metric tons, 8% less than in the previous cycle due to reduced tree productivity.

In Mexico, growers say they expect the necessary recovery of the trees after record productivity and production (especially in Michoacán) in the 2020/21 season.

In addition, insufficient rainfall and high temperatures are likely to reduce production and yields in producing states outside of Michoacán, according to USDA projections.

The planted and harvested areas are projected at 227,126 hectares (ha) and 225,910 ha, respectively, with a national yield of 10.30 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha).

Likewise, the harvest peaks from October to February, with an average supply from March to May and a low season from June to September.

“This is possible thanks to the rapid response and cooperation of the governor of Michoacán, the federal government of Mexico and the Association of Exporting Producers and Packers of Avocado of Mexico (APEAM). I thank you for working with my security colleagues at the U.S. Embassy to establish measures to ensure the safety of our APHIS inspectors in the field,” Ken Salazar, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, said in a statement.

In Mexico, an APHIS official did not certify a shipment because the avocados originated in Puebla, a state from which these fruits cannot be exported to the United States, and after that he and his family were threatened.