Mexico has resumed exporting avocados to the United States after being suspended nearly a week ago following threats to a U.S. inspector, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Friday.
“The avocado inspection program in Michoacán, Mexico, was restarted and avocado exports to the United States resumed,” the text states.
“Additional measures that improve the safety of inspectors” from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) working in the field have been enacted, following a telephone threat made to an employee on Feb. 11, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports.
“The safety of USDA employees who are simply doing their job is of the utmost importance,” he insists.
The United States appreciates “the positive and collaborative relationship” with Mexico that made it possible to solve the problem.
The security reinforcement was decided in collaboration with the regional security officer of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Mexico’s national plant protection organization (SENASICA), and the Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico (APEAM).
Read: AMLO accuses economic interests after suspension of entry of Michoacan avocado to the US
.@USDA_APHIS has decided to immediately resume its avocado inspection program in Michoacán. 🇲🇽 and 🇺🇸 continue to work together to strengthen strong bilateral supply chains that promote economic growth and prosperity in both countries.
— U.S. Embassy in Mex (@USEmbassyMEX) February 18, 2022
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula, expressed his approval for the announcement about the immediate resumption of inspections of the avocado from Michoacán, which allows, he said, its entry into the United States.
Read: The threat of organized crime that paralyzed the millionaire export of avocados from Mexico to the US
In a message in networks, he reiterated that the health and quality of the Mexican avocado will continue to be safeguarded, as well as it is done with all agri-food products.
“Our greatest recognition to all the participants in this process, in which we showed the results that solid bilateral cooperation brings, for the benefit of producers and consumers of our peoples,” the official said.
From @Agricultura_mex we express our welcome for the announcement about the immediate resumption of inspections of the avocado of #Michoacán, which allows its entry into #EstadosUnidos. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/yfdE86Injt
— Víctor Villalobos Arámbula (@vmva1950) February 18, 2022
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard welcomed the “good news”; He said that it gives an account of the close and cordial relationship between Mexico and the United States.
During today’s morning conference, Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López reported that there was already a proposal to regularize avocado exports to the United States.
The secretary of the interior reports that there is already a proposal to regularize the export of avocado to the United States; he said that a resolution will be issued today that, if positive, could result in the process being resumed next week. pic.twitter.com/Pc7GjbdeKE
— Animal Político (@Pajaropolitico) February 18, 2022
Michoacán is the world’s largest producer of avocado and 85% of its production goes to the United States, where it is consumed in large quantities.
But it is also one of the Mexican states hardest hit by violence linked to organized crime, in whose sights are, among others, avocado producers, who suffer robberies, aggressions and extortion.
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