The United States suspended government avocado inspections in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan on Wednesday, halting imports of the fruit after citing a non-specific security threat to American personnel in the region. The move threatens to disrupt a $3.7 billion trade that accounts for more than 80 percent of avocados consumed in the US.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded within hours by announcing the deployment of 1,557 soldiers and National Guard members to Michoacan’s avocado belt, aiming to restore security and restart exports as quickly as possible. Sedena, Mexico’s defense ministry, said the troops were being sent to packing houses, escorting transport trucks and providing security at wholesale markets around the towns of Apatzingan, Aguililla and Buenavista.
The US Department of Agriculture had been conducting on-site quality inspections in Michoacan to prevent pests from entering the country. Without those inspections, avocado imports cannot legally cross the border. Michoacan is one of only two Mexican states authorized to export avocados to the United States, and Jalisco, the other authorized state, ships far smaller volumes.
No specific incident triggered the suspension, and Michoacan authorities described it as preventive, linked to recent arrests in extortion cases targeting the avocado industry. Numerous cartels operate across the state, which is Mexico’s main avocado-producing region and a hub of drug trafficking and violence. One anonymous producer told the Associated Press he pays one peso per kilo exported in extortion fees and ships about 90 metric tons daily, amounting to more than $5,000 in daily payments to criminal groups.
The California Avocado Commission called for stronger monitoring of fruit headed to the US and said cartels should not be allowed to exploit the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to undercut American growers. Industry analysts note that export suspensions typically resolve within days because they hurt all sides: Mexican producers lose revenue, US consumers face price increases, and the cartels themselves lose extortion income while the fruit sits idle.
Mexican analyst David Saucedo suggested that ongoing friction over avocado exports is among the reasons the Trump administration designated four cartels operating in Michoacan as terrorist organizations earlier this year. Previous pauses in exports, including a high-profile halt on the eve of the 2022 Super Bowl, were triggered by direct violence against USDA inspectors.
The standoff highlights the deep entanglement of trade, security and organized crime in Mexico’s agricultural sector. Michoacan’s avocado industry employs roughly 200,000 people, and any prolonged disruption could ripple through supply chains on both sides of the border while fueling political tensions between Washington and Mexico City.
Sources: Newsday / AP, Los Angeles Times, Rio Times
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