The Government of Mexico indicated this Wednesday that it supports and endorses the security measures offered by the government of the state of Michoacán “to solve the concerns” of the United States Department of Agriculture “for the integrity of its personnel.”
In a joint statement, the Secretaries of the Interior (Interior) and of Agriculture indicated that the former has been attentive to the conversations that the Governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, held this day with the security officers of the United States Embassy. in Mexico.
This with the purpose of “reactivating the export of avocado from Michoacán to that country as soon as possible.”
Just last Saturday, February 12, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the Department of Agriculture notified Mexico of “the temporary suspension of the export of avocados from Michoacán” after the threats received by one of its inspectors for alleged members of organized crime (drug traffickers).
This Tuesday, Ramírez Bedolla revealed to the media that there is a dialogue with the office of Ken Salazar, US ambassador to Mexico, and with the Association of Exporting Producers and Packers of Avocado of Mexico (APEAM) to determine the new scheme of security for officers (inspectors) and facilities of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In addition, he said that a proposal for a security mechanism was presented to guarantee the free transit, harvest, packaging, and export of the product from Michoacan to the United States, which includes, among other things, a protocol and a study of 59 municipalities of the zone.
Precisely in this Wednesday’s statement, the Ministry of the Interior reiterated its commitment to national public security, and said that it remains vigilant “to reinforce the measures that are necessary to strengthen the proposed mechanism.”
For its part, the Secretary of Agriculture reported that verifying that the Work Plan signed with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS-USDA) is punctually fulfilled to guarantee safe and pest-free avocado production.
In this way, Agriculture of Mexico said that it intends to “preserve the production and marketing of avocado, which is a source of employment and income for a large number of producers, most of whom are small and medium-scale.”
This food is vital for the economy of Michoacán, which, in addition to being the main producer of avocados in the country, is the only Mexican state fully authorized to export to the United States.
According to figures from the National Agricultural Council (CNA) of Mexico, in 2020 the United States was the main consumer of Mexican avocado with 1,045 million tons.
While in 2021, Mexico produced 2.45 million tons of avocado, this is 2.5% more than in 2020 when 2.39 million tons were produced.
In addition, he pointed out that intensive cultivation allows Mexico to have the availability of the fruit during all months of the year, which guarantees to have fresh products for both the national and international markets.