The United States Government, through its Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS), formally authorized the entry of avocado from the Mexican state of Jalisco on Monday. Thus, producers from this state can now start to export their fruit to the US market.
The Government of the state of Jalisco stated that the US government had sent the notification on the conclusion of the inspection and certification of more than 8,000 hectares of avocado in more than 600 orchards on Monday, July 11 to the head of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER-Jalisco), Ana Lucía Camacho Sevilla, as well as to the Secretary of Federal Agriculture, Victor Villalobos Arambula, and the president of the Association of Exporting Producers of Avocado of Jalisco A.C., (APEAJAL), Javier Medina Villanueva.
The head of the state secretariat stressed that this meant that, after 10 years of waiting, Jalisco would finally be able to export avocado to the North American market. "The accompaniment work from the Agency of Agricultural Food Health, Safety, and Quality of the State of Jalisco (ASICA) will be very valuable."
According to the USDA-APHIS, "the US government has approved avocado exports from Jalisco and Michoacan to any continental port of the United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico."
The document states that the product will be subject to an ordinary inspection and must be accompanied by the corresponding health permits.
"Jalisco avocado producers are prepared to initially export 3,000 to 5,000 tons of Hass avocado per week to the United States, a market that demands nearly 16,000 tons," stated representatives of the Association of Exporting Producers of Jalisco Avocado (APEAJAL).
The document details that Jalisco's avocado sector exports more than 113,000 tons of avocado each year to 30 countries, including Canada, Japan, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Portugal, and Germany.
Source: jalisco.gob.mx