Feb 14, 2022 - World

U.S. suspends avocado imports from Mexico after inspector is threatened

Ivana Saric

Box of Avocados — A box of avocados moves along a conveyor belt at the Grupo Aguacatero Mexicano packing facility in Periban, Michoacan state, Mexico, on Sept. 23, 2021. Photo: Jeoffrey Guillemard/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The U.S. has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados from the state of Michoacan "until further notice" after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threatening message, Mexico's Agriculture Department confirmed in a statement Saturday.

Why it matters: Michoacan is the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export avocados to the U.S., so the temporary suspension effectively amounts to a pause on all imports of Mexican avocados, per AP.

Michoacan is also home to turf battles by drug cartels that regularly see to the extortion of avocado growers, according to AP.

The big picture: A U.S. plant safety inspector received a threatening call while carrying out an inspection in Uruapan, Michoacan, the press release said.

All inspections have been paused and an investigation is being carried out.

What they're saying: “We are working with the Mexican government to guarantee security conditions that would allow our personnel in Michoacan to resume operations,” the U.S. embassy in Mexico wrote on Twitter.

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U.S. suspends avocado imports from Mexico after inspector is threatened

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