[ad_1]
An attack on two employees of the US Department of Agriculture caused temporary suspension of safety inspections of avocados and mangoes in Mexico, potentially disrupting the $2.4 billion industry between the two countries.
Ambassador Ken Salazar said in a statement that the two officials were attacked and temporarily detained by assailants while inspecting avocados in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
The officials, who are employees of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis), were later released.
“To ensure the safety of our agricultural inspection teams, APHIS has suspended avocado and mango inspections in Michoacán until these security issues are resolved,” Salazar said.
Since avocados are also grown in the United States, there are American inspectors working there Mexico to ensure that exported avocados do not carry diseases that could harm US crops.
Michoacán is Mexico’s largest exporter of avocados. Inspections in other Mexican states are not affected, Salazar said.
The Mexican Association of Growers and Packers said in a statement Tuesday that it is working closely with government officials from Mexico and the United States to resume avocado exports from Michoacán.
It said the incident that led to the suspension was “not related to avocado production.”
The organization has previously warned that its members are a a frequent target of violence and threats by organized crime groups seeking protection money, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars per acre.
There are also reports of organized crime bringing in avocados grown in other states that are not approved for export and trying to get them through US inspections.
Michoacan Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedola told reporters on Monday that Mexican authorities were in discussions with their American counterparts to quickly resolve the situation.
In February 2022, the US Govt suspended inspections of Mexican avocados for about a week after a US plant safety inspector in Michoacán received a threatening message.
Later that year, Jalisco became the second Mexican state to receive permission to export avocados to the United States.
The new pause in inspections will not immediately block shipments of Mexican avocados to the United States, as Jalisco is already an exporter and many Michoacán avocados are already in transit.
Salazar said he will travel to Michoacán next week to meet with Bedola and the association of growers and packers.
[ad_2]
-
-
-
-
