North America Edition
According to the director of the National Phytosanitary Service (SFE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the decision to ban imports of avocados from Australia, Spain, Ghana, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the U.S. state of Florida, was taken to prevent the entry of the Sun Blotch virus, which is present in these markets. The Chamber of Importers of Perishables ensured that the country would run out of supplies, as "only 20% of the country's total consumption (14,000 tons) is harvested in Costa Rica."
Donald Garcia, import manager for Fruit's from the World, told Nacion.com that, the country imports "nearly 70,000 tons of this fruit per year and Mexico is our main supplier."
"According to Garcia, closing the market to Mexico will result in a shortage, a situation that was not taken into account by the SFE, even though the country has imported the product from abroad for many years. Importers also criticize the way the decision was made, because it was not coordinated with Mexico or with any other supplier and because there wasn't a preliminary study to define what areas, in the avocado exporting countries, are free from the pest and ok to continue buying avocado from them."
Source: centralamericadata.com
