USDA Suspends Avocado Inspections in Mexico, Citing Safety Concerns

The move, driven by fears for the safety of temporary workers, could potentially affect U.S. avocado supplies if inspections do not resume.

Temp worker safety concerns have led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to suspend its inspections of avocados and mangoes imported from Mexico “until further notice” , said the U.S.D.A. said Monday.

Products already authorized for export will not be affected by the decision, but supplies of avocados to the United States, which mainly come from l The Mexican state of Michoacán could potentially be affected if inspections do not resume.

Inspections “will remain suspended until the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place,” the U.S.D.A. said. the spokesperson said in an email.

The agency did not specify what prompted the security concerns. But Mexican media recently reported that two U.S.D.A. inspectors were illegally detained at a checkpoint run by community members. In Michoacán, which stretches from the mountains west of Mexico City to the Pacific Ocean, some indigenous communities have established security patrols to defend against criminal groups.

The United States embassy in Mexico confirmed Monday that the inspectors were no longer in custody.

“The interruption of Michoacán's avocado exports was due to an incident unrelated to the avocado industry. " Julio Sahagún Calderón, president of the Mexican Association of Avocado Growers and Packers, known as APEAM, said in a statement. He added that the group was working “intensively” with Mexican and American authorities to resume inspection of Michoacán avocados.

This is not the first time that U.S. security inspectors have faced security threats in Michoacán, where residents have been caught in the middle of a brutal turf war between drug cartels.

In 2022, the United States decided to temporarily block all imports. lawyers from Mexico after a verbal threat was made against a security inspector. The ban was lifted days later after Mexico adopted more security measures for the U.S.D.A. inspectors.

In addition to fighting over drug trafficking, cartels have sought to force their way into the legal economy, particularly the profitable industry of the avocado, whose success has been fueled by America's voracious appetite for the creamy fruit.

Orchards that produce avocados for the export to the United States, as well as the packaging plants that process them, must be certified. by the Mexican authorities and the U.S.D.A. inspectors.

The agency is committed to resuming inspections “as quickly as possible,” the U.S.D.A. said. the spokesperson said. He said “avocados and mangoes in transit are not affected” by the suspension “as they have already undergone the inspection process.”

Popularity and the profitability of avocados have caused environmental concerns in Mexico, with the appearance of avocado orchards in protected areas supposedly off-limits to farmers and loggers. This has led to the loss of forests and the depletion of aquifers.

A report released last year by Climate Rights International, a nonprofit organization documenting the consequences of climate change on human rights, found that as of March 2023, the United States and Mexico have certified more than 50,000 avocado orchards in Michoacán for export.