Mexico Tightens Avocado Controls After Borer Pest Detected in Shipments, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Mexican authorities announced on Monday stricter controls to protect avocado production from the borer pest and to prevent disruption to exports of the so-called “green gold,” whose main destination is the U.S. market, according to the Associated Press.
In a statement, the Secretariat of Agriculture said the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) established a comprehensive scheme of regulatory measures, epidemiological surveillance and phytosanitary inspections. The plan follows local media reports over the weekend that about 52 tons of avocados contaminated with the pest had been destroyed.
The avocado borer is a beetle whose larvae feed on plant tissue and damage crops, not a fly larva like the one that affects livestock and humans. The insects bore into branches, trunks and fruit seeds, which can harm production and encourage the spread of pests, but they do not affect people.
The control scheme includes verification of shipments leaving the localities of Apatzingán, Buenavista, Cotija, Jiquilpan and Zamora in Michoacán, which produces more than 70% of Mexican avocados, along with six mobile inspection routes. The government reported that two shipments carrying the pest were detected on October 28; one was returned to its place of origin and another was destroyed.
Officials did not give details on where those shipments came from or their final destination.
From August 13 to October 30, authorities inspected 1,774 shipments carrying 7,391 tons of avocados. Press reports said the contaminated shipments came from the western states of Jalisco and Nayarit, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Academic and environmentalist Julio Santoyo told the Associated Press that Mexican authorities should investigate the origin of the shipments and explain how they reached Michoacán. “I think the situation carries risk, but it must first be investigated very clearly to know its magnitude,” he said, adding that the lack of transparency particularly affects the image of Michoacán avocados, which are internationally recognized.
Official figures show that between January and April, Mexican producers shipped 501,824 tons of avocados to the United States, about 84% of local production. In the first half of this year, Mexico received $3.809 billion from avocado exports, making it the country’s leading export fruit.
The pest cases emerged amid protests that producers in Michoacán have staged since October 23. They have suspended activities to press for higher fruit prices, which have fallen by more than 30% in recent months.
The Association of Avocado Producers and Exporters of Mexico (APEAM) said in a statement it expects the Michoacán Plant Health Boards to resume operations on Tuesday, allowing harvesting to restart gradually and moving toward normalization of the fruit’s export program to the United States.
