Mexico: U.S. Lifts Ban on Avocado Imports, Expert Predicts Short-Lived Shortage

Several experts foresee a short-lived shortage of avocados from Mexico in the U.S., even though the federal government lifted the temporary ban on Friday.

It can be recalled that the U.S. Embassy announced on Friday that Washington lifted the ban on Mexican avocados, paving the way for exports to resume, USA Today reported.

The Guardian also mentioned that the move from the federal government also resumed the inspections of avocados from Michoacan, Mexico.

However, experts think that the week-long ban on fruit would have an effect on its prices and stocks in grocery stores.

Experts on Brief Avocado Shortage

When it comes to the stocks of avocados in the grocery stores across the U.S., Cornell Sc Johnson College of Business professor of applied economics, Miguel Gómez, said that the shortage that will be caused by the ban will be only for a short time.

"I think that the disruption in the market will be very short now because [avocado from] Peru is going to come in late in March, early April," Gómez said, adding that Peru might start shipping their avocados in mid-March.

Agtools Inc CEO Martha Montoya told KENS 5 that some avocados are now "too ripe" for travel and that there will be a vacuum of product availability for at least five to seven working days.

As of Friday, International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Chief Public Policy Officer Robert Gunther said that there is no avocado shortage in the USA. However, the week-long ban on Mexican avocados will affect the supply as "additional time" is needed to materialize the products.

"Markets will remain in a state of flux as competing as competing companies look to load up on fruit to refill depleted inventories... The time needed for transportation and distribution will also play a role," Gunther underscored.

Despite predicting the effect of the U.S. ban on avocados, Gunther said that it is still "early" to tell how long the interruption in "picking, packing, and shipping" will affect the avocado market.

Aside from shortages, experts also believe that prices will also be affected. University of California's agriculture and resource economics professor, Daniel Sumner, said that avocado prices will also be somewhat higher "for at least few days" due to the missing shipments while the ban was imposed.

It is known that aside from Mexico, the United States also sources the avocados from Peru, Chile, Colombia, as well as Southern California. However, the avocados from the said areas are only a "tiny fraction" of what Mexico is importing into the U.S.

In 2021, the United States imported around $3 billion worth of avocados. Of that amount, $2.8 billion came from Mexico equating to 1.1m tons of the fruit.

Meanwhile, Mexico's avocado exports total amounts to $3.2 billion and 80 percent of that avocados directly go to the USA.

Mexico Avocado Imports Ban

It can be recalled that the U.S. imposed an import ban on Mexico avocados on the eve of the Super Bowl this year, following a threat received by an inspector from drug cartels.

According to Mexico's Agriculture Department, the U.S. health authorities called on the ban claiming that one of their inspectors received a "threatening message" on his official cellphone.

The temporary suspension affected the state of Michoacan in Mexico, as it was the only state authorized by the USA to import avocados in its market.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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