Mexico's Jalisco region clears hurdle in quest to export avocados to the U.S.

Mexico's Department of Agriculture said Dec. 7 that the U.S. has authorized fresh avocado imports from the Jalisco, the second-largest producing region in Mexico. 

Site-specific approvals and certifications must be completed before shipments begin, officials said.

For more than 20 years, only avocados from the state of Michoacán have been permitted into the U.S.

Mexican agriculture officials said the signing of the work plan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows interested producers in Jalisco to begin to conduct the work to be in a position to export during the next season, which begins in April 2022. 

The timing of the market opening comes soon after U.S. fresh potatoes were promised expanded access to the Mexican market after many years of waiting. A few industry leaders have speculated in the past that the two issues were linked by the two governments.

Another player

Mexico's main avocado region is Michoacán, producing more than 1.8 million metric tons, according to the Mexican Department of Agriculture. Jalisco's avocado production is 248,000 metric tons, with the State of Mexico producing 118,000 metric tons and Nayarit, which harvests about 70,000 metric tons per year.

The U.S. is the main global buyer of Mexican avocado, followed by Canada, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Honduras, El Salvador, China and South Korea, among others, according to a news release from the Mexican Department of Agriculture.

Mexican agriculture officials said in the release that the signing of the operational work plan with the U.S. will have a positive impact "on the families that are dedicated to the production of this fruit in Mexico and will benefit all those who participate in the production chain."

One of the requirements to ship avocados to the U.S. is that regions have the status of a quarantine pest-free zone. Those certification measures for groves and packinghouses will start with Jalisco and then proceed to the State of Mexico and Nayarit, according to the release.

Avocado power

Mexico is the main avocado producer in the world, with a volume that in 2020 exceeded 2.3 million metric tons, or about 32% of world production of the fruit.

Last year, Mexican producers exported 1.36 million metric tons to 51 countries, achieving sales of more than $3.46 billion, of which 83.5% correspond to fresh fruit, 8.9% to guacamole, 5.5% to oil and 2.1% to avocado pulp.

With more than 250,000 metric tons produced by 3,100 growers, Jalisco is the second-largest avocado-producing state with more than 250,000 metric tons produced year-round, according to an annual Mexican avocado report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.
Marketing year 2021/22 planted area is forecast at 53,000 acres, 2% higher than the previous marketing year.

Jalisco has about 30,000 acres that are five years old or younger among its 75 growing municipalities.