California's Avocado Commission (CAC) has asked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to resume inspections of orchards and packing plants in Mexico, given the increase in pest detections since that task was delegated to Mexican authorities at the end of 2024.
The change in protocol, which shifted responsibility to Mexico's National Health Service, has raised concerns in the Californian sector, which values its avocado industry at $1.5 billion. For nearly 30 years, inspectors from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) carried out controls at origin, preventing the entry of pests such as stem weevils and seed weevils.
Since the transfer, more cases have been reported in Mexican packing plants, according to the CAC, which believes that without strict inspections, local production and the country's agricultural biosecurity are at risk. The organization warned that, if security conditions are not restored, imports of Mexican avocado, which currently covers about 90% of U.S. consumption, should be suspended.
The Commission has stepped up its lobbying in Washington, D.C., with meetings with lawmakers including Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert, and Glenn Thompson, and the backing of a bipartisan letter sent to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. Senator John Boozman, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was also receptive to intervening.
The CAC insists that exporting to the U.S. is a privilege, not a right, and that in the absence of effective inspections, the privilege should be reconsidered.
Source: redagricola.com