The United States has resumed importing avocados from Mexico on Friday after improving the safety of its field employees in the producing area of Michoacán, reported the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the Department of Agriculture announced today that its inspection program in Michoacán has restarted and exports to the United States have resumed,” says the official announcement from Mexico.
"Mexico and the United States will continue to work together to strengthen the strong bilateral supply chains that promote economic growth and prosperity in both countries," the USDA said.
The suspension, which was also announced from Mexico, was imposed on Saturday, Feb.12, in reaction to the fact that a U.S. agricultural inspector assigned to Michoacán received threats a day earlier in calls to an official cell phone number.
A week after the threats, the Department of Agriculture reported that authorities from both countries and avocado producers increased preventive measures.
The state of Michoacán exports 85 percent of its annual avocado production to the United States.
According to official data, in 2021 the United States imported 3,000 million dollars of avocados worldwide, of which 2,800 million, or 92 percent of total imports, came from Mexico. About 79 percent of Mexico’s avocados were exported to the United States for 3,200 million dollars.
Between 2020 and 2021, eight out of ten avocado exports from Michoacán went to US markets.
The peak growing season for avocados in Mexico is from January to March, while the US avocado production season runs from April to September.
