USA suspends inspections of avocados and mangos in the Mexican state of Michoacan for safety reasons

MEXICO CITY – The U.S. government has suspended inspections of avocados and mangoes in the Mexican state of Michoacan due to safety concerns, an official said Monday.

A U.S. government spokesman, whose name could not be disclosed under agency policy, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was suspending inspections in Michoacan, Mexico’s largest avocado exporter, until the safety situation was resolved.

Inspections in other Mexican states are not affected, the spokesman said.

Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla told reporters on Monday that Mexican authorities were in talks with their U.S. counterparts to quickly resolve the situation.

In February 2022, the U.S. government suspended inspections of Mexican avocados “until further notice” after a U.S. industrial safety inspector in Michoacan received a threatening message. The halt was lifted after about a week.

Later that same year, Jalisco became the second Mexican state allowed to export avocados to the United States.

The suspension of inspections will not hinder the shipment of Mexican avocados to the United States, since Jalisco is now an exporter and many avocados from Michoacán are already in transit, the spokesman said.

Since avocados are also grown in the USA, American inspectors in Mexico ensure that the exported avocados do not transmit diseases that could harm American crops.