Over the weekend, the U.S. government suspended avocado imports from Mexico “…until further notice.”
The Associated Press reported Mexico has acknowledged the U.S. government has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threat.
The decision, confirmed late Saturday, February 11, could have a major economic impact on the Mexican avocado industry. Mexico exports nearly $3 billion of avocados a year.
The U.S. government suspended all imports of Mexican avocados “until further notice” after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threatening message, Mexico’s Agriculture Department said in a statement, according to the AP report. The report named avocado exports and growers as the latest victims of the drug cartel turf battles in the western state of Michoacan, the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export to the U.S. market.
“U.S. health authorities … made the decision after one of their officials, who was carrying out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacan, received a threatening message on his official cellphone,” the department wrote.
One Michoacan grower notes to reach a faster resolution of the suspension, adding more security for USDA officials may be necessary because of Mexico’s ongoing security issues.
According to AP, many avocado growers in Michoacan — where the Jalisco cartel is fighting turf wars against a collection of local gangs known as the United Cartels — say drug gangs threaten them or their family members with kidnapping or death unless they pay protection money, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars per acre.
The U.S. Embassy, which said in a social media post that it’s “working with the Mexican government to guarantee security conditions that would allow [its] personnel in Michoacan to resume operations,” has also said that “facilitating the export of Mexican avocados to the U.S. and guaranteeing the safety of our agricultural inspection personnel go hand in hand,” the AP report said.
This is not the first time that USDA officials have been threatened with violence in Mexico, said AP, pointing to a direct threat to U.S. inspectors in the town of Ziracuaretiro in August 2019 and the killing of a Mexican employee of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Sept. 30, 2020.
Michoacan has been exporting avocados to the U.S. for about 25 years, and commercial shipments of Mexican fresh Hass avocados from the state have been imported since 1997, according to APHIS. Michoacan is the only state currently approved to send avocados to the U.S.
The vast majority of Mexican avocados were crossing the U.S. Border into the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas
Dominican Republic Avocados
Dominican Republic Desbry® Tropical Avocados are available in ample supply for immediate shipping, which are grown and distributed by WP Produce Corporation, headquartered in Miami, FL.
The company’s tropical avocados remain green when ripe, are about three times larger than the more familiar Hass variety, have a sturdy texture, and stay fresh longer after being cut (slower to oxidize and turn brown).
Dominican Republic avocados are well-known throughout the East Coast of the U.S., as well as the Caribbean and many parts of the world. They are gaining popularity throughout the U.S. as retailers expand the avocado category and shoppers and chefs learn about it.
The impending shortage of Mexican avocados is happening during peak season for W.P. Produce’s tropical avocados.
“We grow and pack Desbry® Tropical Avocados on our sustainable farms and facilities in Florida and the Dominican Republic, depending on the season, and ship throughout North America 365 days a year,” said Christopher Gonzalez, VP of Sales for WP Produce and nephew of founder Willy Pardo.”
Founded in 1984, WP Produce is a family-owned, multi-regional grower, packer and shipper of fresh, tropical fruits and roots. WP Produce has been a pioneer in the tropical avocado market since 1992 and is now the largest importer and distributor of Dominican Tropical Avocados worldwide. With farms and partnerships with growers in Florida and the Dominican Republic, WP Produce offers a wide variety of tropical produce and root vegetables under the premium Desbry® brand.