International

Avocado shipments from Mexico are resuming after the U.S. lifts its ban

By Deepa Shivaram

Published February 18, 2022 at 12:04 PM PST

This story was published more than 2 years ago.

Inspections on avocados from Mexico's Michoacán state were paused for almost a week after an agricultural inspector received a verbal threat. But on Friday, the U.S. Embassy said inspections would continue, allowing avocado shipments to resume.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is resuming inspections of avocados from Mexico, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City announced Friday. The move allows the U.S. to resume imports of the popular fruit, which had been temporarily halted for nearly a week.

The ban, which went into effect on Saturday, was put in place after a USDA inspector received a verbal threat. Ongoing security concerns in Michoacán state have had U.S. officials concerned for years, but this was the first time inspections were suspended.

"Mexico and the United States will continue working together to fortify the strong bilateral supply chains that promote economic growth and prosperity in both our countries," Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said in a statement.

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Salazar thanked the governor of Michoacán, Mexican's federal government and the Mexican avocado industry for their rapid response and cooperation.

"I also thank the hardworking U.S. and Mexican farmers and ranchers, the backbone of the world's largest bilateral food and agricultural trade relationship," Salazar said.

He noted that food and agricultural trade between the two countries reached $65 billion last year — including $2.8 billion in Mexican avocado exports to the United States.