Jalisco, Mexico - On Monday, Jalisco sent its first shipment of avocados to the United States, after the border had been closed to this fruit for 83 years. The shipment consisted of five trucks, loaded with 120 tons of avocados from the Grupo Roquin, Avo Select, Mevi Aguacates Selectos, and the Grupo Cerritos companies.

Last May, the US government gave Mexico permission for Jalisco to export avocados to that nation after having achieved health, safety, and bio-security certifications. However, changes in regulations delayed the export.

Javier Guizar Macias, a delegate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) in Jalisco, said this was a historical moment for producers in his state.

"Today we are achieving the goal of sending avocados to the United States thanks to the our unity and work. The parents and grandparents of many producers here made a great effort to make this happen," he said.

The federal official said that the product came from nine orchards with a total of 157 hectares in the municipalities of Gomez Farias, Zapotlan el Great, and Conception de Buenos Aires.

Hector Padilla, Secretary of Rural Development (Seder), said avocado exports will increase expectations for economic growth and create more jobs in the municipalities. He said that there were currently 17 districts in the state that produced the fruit.

He also said he thought the election of Donald Trump wouldn't pose major problems for the food industry, as Mexico produces nearly 20 percent of the food that the United States imports.

"Food is a daily need and the United States has no way to supply its consumers. If there are some tax adjustments, consumers will pay them," he said.

He also said that their goal should be maintaining and increasing exports to the US and he asked producers not to neglect the markets that they had opened in other countries in Europe and Asia.

Jose Cortes Gonzalez, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Avocado from Jalisco (Apeajal), said that one of the Association's most important purposes, since it was founded, was to export avocados to the United States.

"Now we can say: mission accomplished. I would like to thank and acknowledge the work done by all the technical and administrative staff of the local boards and the state's plant health committee, as well as the three levels of government and the USDA," he said.

"I especially want to thank the efforts of the packers and producers of Jalisco to achieve this important milestone."

The Mayor of Zapotlan el Grande, Alberto Esquer, said that having sent the first shipments of avocado to the US, improved the position of the municipality.

Jalisco is the second biggest producer of avocados in the country, just behind Michoacan. In 2015, Jalisco harvested 119.600 tons of avocado, 58,000 tons of which it exported to 15 countries, including Canada, China, and Germany. Expectations are that, with the opening of the US border, this figure will increase to 100,000 tons.