The California Avocado Commission is raising concerns with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the decision by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to stop inspecting avocados grown in Mexico.
A letter to Vilsack from CAC Chair Jason Cole and Vice President of Industry Affairs and Operations Ken Melban seeks answers as to why the change was made and requests an in-person meeting with Vilsack. The commission officials said they first learned of the action through a Mexico Daily News article, including that inspection will be turned over to Mexico’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
“We expected and believe we are entitled to better treatment from APHIS,” the letter read. “After all, we are California growers, not Mexican growers, who have everything to lose if, what appears to be a politically driven decision, does not work.”
According to the APHIS 2023 Impact Report, the agency was responsible for overseeing the import of nearly 3 billion pounds of avocados from Mexico. The APHIS inspection and certification oversight rule was originally established in 1997.
USDA press secretary Allan Rodriguez clarified in a statement that APHIS is focused "on critical phytosanitary control points at the packinghouses and continue[s] to provide oversight of packinghouse activities" and has continued presence in packinghouses, noting that APHIS supervision of sampling and orchard certification is being conducted remotely.
Rodriguez added that beginning this summer, APHIS and Mexico’s plant protection agency are looking into "ways to modernize supervision of the Mexican avocado orchard certification program."
This article was updated to include a statement from a USDA spokesperson.
