Canada’s avocado supply not impacted by U.S. pause on Mexico inspections

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there has not been a “significant” impact on avocado imports into Canada from Mexico after the U.S. paused inspections in Michoacan state this week over security concerns.

Mexico’s avocado producers and packers association, APEAM, said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. government had temporarily halted import inspection activities in Michoacan, Mexico’s top avocado-producing state, where organized crime groups have extorted growers and exporters.

“Canada has not seen a significant impact on the imports of avocados from Mexico since the suspensions of United States inspections in Mexico’s Michoacan state,” the CFIA told Global News in a statement Friday.

“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has not conducted any recent international verification activities on avocados originating from the Michoacan State or the state of Jalisco,” where many avocados are also grown, the agency added.

The CFIA said the volume of avocado imports has been generally consistent year over year, though it noted a slight increase in imports from Mexico in the past three years.

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Mexico deployed more than 1,500 soldiers and National Guard personnel to Michoacan on Thursday in an attempt to resume the U.S. inspections.

The defence ministry said the deployment would target key producing municipalities and protect packing facilities, transportation routes, and inspection points from organized crime extortion.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government is coordinating a “work plan” with the U.S. Embassy to guarantee inspector safety in areas where the National Guard previously had limited presence.

“We are looking for this to be a brief suspension so we can recover exports,” Sheinbaum said on Thursday at a daily press conference.

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Canada’s travel advisory for Mexico includes parts of Michoacan and Jalisco in its list of areas where the government says Canadians should avoid non-essential travel “due to high levels of violence and organized crime.”

The two states saw a wave of violence in February after the killing of notorious drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), during a military operation in Jalisco state.

—with files from Reuters