The US has approved imports of Hass avocados from the Mexican state of Jalisco. On Wednesday, US-APHIS signed an operational work plan with Mexico’s plant health authority Senasica, giving the green light for exports to begin from next season, which begins in April 2022.
One of the requirements of the plan is that the production region must be free from quarantine pests known as avocado borers, as they tunnel into avocado trees, where they feed or lay eggs.
Senasica said it expects the agreement to pave the way for exports from the state of Nayarit which, together with Jalisco, are the main avocado producing states after Michoacán.
Under the work plan, the phytosanitary authorities from both countries will draw up the requirements that producers must meet at farms and pack houses in order to be eligible to market their avocados in the US.
Senasica said it is also currently in negotiations with Brazil, Malaysia, China, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cuba and Chile, to open up more markets from Mexican fruit, while talks with Australia and Thailand are due to begin shortly.
Mexico is the world’s biggest avocado producer and home of 32 per cent of global production. In 2020 it exported more than 1.3m tonnes of the fruit to 51 countries.
The main producing state is Michoacán, with more than 1.8m tonnes, followed by Jalisco with 248,000 tonnes, the State of Mexico with 118,000 tonnes, and Nayarit, which produces almost 70,000 tonnes a year.
The US is the main market for Mexican avocados, taking more than 1m tonnes a year. It is followed by Canada, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Honduras, El Salvador, China and South Korea, among others.
Jalisco currently exports avocado to 29 countries, including Canada, Japan, as well as the European Union.
Source: Fruit Net
