The United States government has temporarily halted inspections of avocados and mangoes originating from the Mexican state of Michoacán, citing security concerns. This action directly affects Mexico's primary avocado-exporting state and was confirmed by both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of Avocado Producers and Exporters of Mexico (APEAM). Michoacán accounts for 73 percent of Mexico’s avocado production and was, until 2022, the sole state authorized to export avocados to the U.S. Shipments that have already been inspected and are in transit will continue to move through the supply chain, mitigating immediate disruptions at the arrival level.
The suspension was triggered by a notification from the USDA regarding operational and inspection conditions, leading to an immediate halt in the ability to ship fresh avocados to the U.S. under the bilateral phytosanitary program. U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar emphasized that the priority is the safety of U.S. agricultural inspection teams, stating that the decision is based on concern for personnel safety, not phytosanitary issues. In the past six weeks alone, Mexico had exported over 5,000 individual shipments totaling more than 35,000 tons of avocados to the U.S. Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla and U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar have reportedly reached a deal to restart inspections, including close communication and an emergency plan.
This is not the first time such an interruption has occurred; in February 2022, the U.S. government suspended inspections of Mexican avocados "until further notice" after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Michoacán received a threatening message, though that halt was lifted after about a week. While inspections in other Mexican states, such as Jalisco (which became an authorized exporter in 2022), are unaffected, Michoacán's dominant role in avocado exports means the suspension has a substantial impact on the trade of Hass avocados, the main export variety to the U.S. retail and foodservice markets.
The ongoing situation has led to significant market volatility. Reports from May indicated that supply was already tightening as the Mexican avocado season neared its end, with some growers strategically slowing harvest activity in anticipation of higher late-season pricing. Companies like Westfalia Fruit and Mission Produce had already declared force majeure due to severe restrictions on Mexican fruit supply, with prices at the border rising hourly. This latest inspection suspension exacerbates an already strained supply chain, with expectations that supply shortages could continue for several months and competition for available fruit intensifying.
