U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar announced Friday that inspections of avocados and mangoes by U.S. Department of Agriculture staff in the western Mexican state of Michoacan will “gradually” resume.
It’s unclear when that will happen. Mr. Salazar seemed to suggest that the safety concerns that led to last weekend’s suspension had not yet been fully resolved.
“Further assurance of their safety remains necessary before they can be fully operational,” he said in a statement, referring to USDA inspectors.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said on Tuesday that two employees of the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were attacked and detained while traveling in Michoacán state where they were investigating avocado orchards and packing plants – a key component of the effort to ensure the fruit Necessary steps for safety.
The embassy confirmed the employees were later released. But a USDA spokesperson told the New York Times that the incident led the U.S. to halt inspections of avocados and mangoes imported from Mexico “until the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are put in place.”
Earlier this week, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador promised to improve safety measures for inspectors, adding that “an agreement is already being sought.”
But he complained that the United States was sometimes quick to take “unilateral measures,” such as the recent pause. “We are convincing them to act differently, but it will take time,” he said.
The move has raised concerns among producers in Michoacan state, which accounts for 73% of Mexico’s avocado production. Jalisco is another Mexican state that allows the shipment of fruit, accounting for 12% of total production. Together, these two states supply approximately 90% of U.S. avocado imports.
“We have not yet seen what measures the authorities will take to prevent this from happening again,” Juan Carlos Anaya, director general of a Mexican agricultural consulting group, said in a radio interview this week.
This is not the first time the United States has raised security concerns about USDA inspectors in Michoacán, with criminal groups trying to infiltrate the avocado industry, a lucrative export market.
As cartels get involved, meeting America’s growing demand for avocados comes at a high cost: threats, kidnappings and killings, as well as massive deforestation, have devastated Michoacán.
In 2022, the United States temporarily banned avocado imports from Mexico after a factory safety inspector in Michoacan state received threatening messages. The ban was lifted shortly after, allowing exports to resume.
Michoacán Gov. Alfredo Ramirez Bedola also announced Friday the gradual resumption of work for USDA inspectors.
“We will continue to work hard to comply with and ensure safe conditions as they work,” he said. “We hope there will be positive news soon and that the avocado and mango exports that Michoacan communities and families rely on will restart.”
