The United States has paused inspections of avocados and mangos from Michoacán, Mexico, after two USDA employees were assaulted and temporarily held captive during field inspections, according to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will suspend inspections of the produce until the “security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place” for personnel, a USDA spokesperson said in a statement.
The APHIS employees are no longer being held, and the assault occurred while they were inspecting avocados in Michoacán, U.S. Amb. Ken Salazar said in a statement.
The pause is based on employee safety concerns and “not phytosanitary concerns,” Salazar said. He added he is closely following the situation and is working with state and federal officials in Mexico.
Next week, he plans to travel to Michoacán to meet with Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla and the Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Mexico (APEAN) to address safety and other issues.
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In February 2022, the U.S. government similarly suspended inspections of Mexican avocados after an APHIS employee reported he was verbally threatened. The pause lasted a week and was lifted after the USDA, Mexican government and industry officials implemented additional safety measures.
Later that year, the U.S. authorized avocado exports from Jalisco, making it the second Mexican state to trade the fruit. The latest pause won’t stop inspections there and also does not apply to avocados and mangos already in transit, Salazar said.
The United States imports 80% of Mexico's avocados, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Michoacán is responsible for over 1.9 million metric tons, or about 73% of avocado production in the country.
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