US suspends inspections of avocados in Mexico over security concerns

The United States government has suspended inspections of avocados and mangoes in the Mexican state of Michoacan due to security concerns, an official said on Monday.

A US government spokesperson, whose name could not be used under agency policy, said the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is pausing inspections in Michoacan, which is Mexico’s biggest exporter of avocados, until the security conditions are resolved.

Inspections in other Mexican states are not affected, the spokesperson said.

In February 2022, the US government suspended inspections of Mexican avocados until further notice after a US plant safety inspector in Michoacan received a threatening message. The halt was lifted after about a week.

Later that year, Jalisco became the second Mexican state authorized to export avocados to the US.

The pause in inspections won’t block shipments of Mexican avocados to the United States, because Jalisco is now an exporter and there are a lot of Michoacan avocados already in transit, the spokesperson said.

Because the United States also grows avocados, US inspectors work in Mexico to ensure exported avocados don’t carry diseases that could hurt US crops.

First Published: Jun 18 2024 | 10:03 AM IST