Mexico extends labor certificate for avocado exports to March 2027, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Mexico’s government has extended until March 2027 the labor certificate required to export avocados, a requirement that mandates social security coverage and formal employment for workers. The measure is connected to demands from the United States regarding labor exploitation and the treatment of workers in other countries, according to the publisher’s report.
The Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) extended the validity of the Labor Certificate for Agro-Export (CLA) for the second phase of the avocado pilot program until March 7, 2027. The certificate had been scheduled to expire on January 15.
The modification, published on November 5 in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), also shifts deadlines for registering employers with the IMSS and for gradually applying the technical factor. It keeps November 2027 as the start date for the transition to the permanent regime.
The agreement keeps the application period for the second-phase certificate, called the Value Chain Registration, open from November 1 to 7, 2026. During that window, applicants must enter information about producers, orchards and other participants in their chain into the VELAGRO platform.
The certificate for this stage will be valid from November 1, 2026 to March 7, 2027.
The STPS explained that the adjustment responds to the need for additional time to integrate information and to allow development of the Avocado Export Traceability Computer System (SITAEX), as well as its connection with VELAGRO. SITAEX will begin operating on December 31, 2026.
The information exchange between the two platforms aims to make it easier for applicants to meet their obligations.
The progressive incorporation of employer registrations for value chain participants, originally scheduled between January and April 2027, will now take place from March to June. The minimum percentage will be 25% in March, 50% in April, 75% in May and 100% in June.
Applications must be submitted during the first seven days of each month, according to the established calendar.
The next stage, corresponding to the staggered technical factor, will begin in July instead of May. It will apply at 25% in July, 50% in August, 75% in September and 100% in October 2027.
Despite the adjustments to the intermediate stages, the application for transition to the permanent regime remains set for November 1 to 7, 2027, with the certificate valid from November 1 of that year to February 7, 2028.
The agreement also adds a provision allowing the STPS to issue certificates without classification and with differentiated validity periods, according to criteria it will determine based on the results of the pilot program.
The modification takes effect on November 5, the day of its publication in the DOF.
