The Agriculture Department will resume avocado and mango inspections in Mexico’s largest avocado-producing state, following an attack on U.S. employees earlier this month.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service employees will gradually restart inspecting avocado and mango packing plants in Michoacán, U.S. Amb. Ken Salazar said in a statement Friday. However, he added that steps still need to be taken to ensure the safety of inspectors in the field.
“More work still needs to be done so that the [agriculture] inspectors are safe and can resume inspections and thereby eliminate the impediments to the trade of avocado and mango to the United States from Michoacán,” Salazar said.
It's easy to be "in the know" about agriculture news from coast to coast! Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news. Simply click here.
The U.S. had paused inspections on June 14 after two APHIS employees were assaulted and temporarily held captive. The suspension did not halt avocado exports from Mexico completely because inspections were able to continue in Jalisco. The pause also did not apply to products already in transit.
Last week, Michoacán Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla reportedly downplayed the safety concerns, and said the inspectors had been stopped in a protest, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. government and Mexican officials are set to meet today in Morelia, Michoacán’s capital, to discuss the safety issues for inspectors, according to Salazar’s statement.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
