The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS-USDA) decided to pause avocado inspection activities in Michoacán until further notice.
The US health authority today informed the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) that it made the determination after one of its officers, who was carrying out inspection work in Uruapan, Michoacán, received a threatening call to your official cell phone.
APHIS-USDA reported that an investigation is currently being carried out to assess the threat and determine the necessary mitigation measures to guarantee the physical integrity of all of its personnel working in Michoacán.
He also reported that a meeting is currently being held between APHIS personnel and representatives of the Association of Producers and Packers-Exporters of Avocado of Mexico (APEAM) with the local and state police to address the issue.
It is important to comment that, in accordance with the Work Plan for the export of Hass avocado from Mexico to the United States (PT), personnel from the US health agency inspect the avocado to be exported and, once authorized, move to packaging for packaging.
In the last six weeks, avocado producers from Michoacán have exported more than 135 thousand tons of avocado to the United States, through more than five thousand shipments of fresh fruit, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
To do this, the Senasica has certified 49,005 orchards with an area of 152,712 hectares to export avocado from Michoacán to that country in the season that runs from October 15, 2021 to April 14, 2022.
Similarly, the 72 avocado packers in the state of Michoacán that meet the requirements established in the Modification of NOM-066-FITO-1995 and the Work Plan for the Export of Hass Avocado from Mexico to the United States were certified.
On the other hand, Agriculture recalled that on December 6, 2021, health authorities of both countries signed the Systems Approach Work Plan for the importation of fresh hass avocado from Mexico to that market.
As a result of this, Senasica holds working meetings with producers and packers from the state of Jalisco to publicize and implement the phytosanitary, safety and quality requirements established by the aforementioned PT.
He indicated that, shortly, the visits to the avocado Production Units will begin to corroborate their phytosanitary status in order for them to be certified by APHIS-USDA in coordination with Senasica, with which it is expected that the first avocado exports of Jalisco are carried out before the end of 2022.