USDA and Mexican agriculture officials have been working together in Washington, D.C., and Mexico to lift the suspension of Mexican avocado exports to the U.S., which was imposed February 11 after an inspector received a threatening phone call.
Tom Stenzel, Co-CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association BB #:378962, said February 16 that IFPA has been involved in some of the talks, and he’s optimistic the suspension will not last long, but it could have a longer effect on avocado supplies in the U.S.
“There will be a supply gap down the road,” he said.
“I don’t think it will take a long time for it to be resolved,” he said of the suspension.
Stenzel said he and other IFPA staff have gotten many questions from members about how long the suspension will last, and all he can tell them at this point is to stay patient.
“Safety has to be secured, but this is so important to both the U.S. and Mexico,” he said of the multi-billion dollar Mexican avocado market in the U.S.
Stenzel said the safety aspect will be decided by the U.S. State Department not USDA.
And it’s important to note that while the avocado inspectors are on temporary leave, the vast majority of them are Mexican citizens working for the USDA, not American citizens doing a job in Michoacan. That means when the suspension is lifted, they could be back to work quickly, he said.
Earlier this week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a press conference that the U.S. suspension of avocado shipments from Mexico has political or economic motivations.
Stenzel said that is not the case, that the suspension only about security of inspectors.
