The Association of Producers, Packers and Exporters of Avocados of Mexico has issued a statement about the publication in Costa Rican media outlets regarding the recent arrival of a shipment of Mexican avocados. This statement claims that the certificate for that shipment was not issued by the competent authorities, making it illegal.
The aforementioned avocado shipment is currently waiting to be imported into Costa Rica, although as explained in the statement, "Dr Javier Trujillo, General Director of Plant Health, has informed that the International Phytosanitary Certificate presented to the authorities of that country was issued by a SAGARPA inspector in clear violation of the Federal Plant Health Law, as well as of the applicable Mexican official standards."
"This inspector has been declared unfit to perform as such; therefore, the corresponding certificate has no legal validity and cannot be considered attributable to the Mexican authorities," said the statement from APEAM.
APEAM also said that it doesn't want "to be associated with any activity related to the export of Mexican avocados to Costa Rica while the restrictions imposed by the latter are not revoked or changed." In the case of the shipment of avocados reported, they assure that "it was exported from Mexico by a company that is not associated with APEAM."
APEAM remains convinced that the phytosanitary measures enforced by the Republic of Costa Rica, which continue to prevent Mexican avocado exports, are incompatible with that country's obligations in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "APEAM is collaborating with the authorities of the Secretariat of Economy and SENASICA to ensure that Costa Rica adheres to the commitments it made in the framework of the WTO, and thus restore the trade of Mexican avocados in that country."