According to U.S. media sources, on February 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that inspections in Michoacán, Mexico have resumed, and Mexican avocado exports to the United States have resumed.
A week earlier on February 12, the U.S. government suspended all Mexican avocado imports due to "a U.S. food safety inspector receiving threatening information in Mexico" (see report: U.S. suspends imports after inspectors threatened by drug lords) Mexican avocado).
APHIS said it had put in place additional security measures to address the issue after working with the U.S. Embassy, Mexico's National Plant Protection Organization and the Avocado Trade Organization.
The American avocado production season is concentrated from April to September each year, while the peak growing season of Mexican avocados is from January to March. Combined with the Super Bowl starting in mid-February, this is currently the largest time of year for avocado consumption in the United States.
With 92% of avocados consumed in the U.S. coming from Mexico in 2021, if the import suspension lasts too long, there will be a shortage of avocados and price spikes in the U.S.
The U.S. currently only allows Mexican avocados to be imported from Michoacan, and recently Jalisco has also been allowed to export to the U.S. starting this summer.