MEXICO CITY, Mexico: The United States has halted inspections of avocados and mangoes in Michoacan, Mexico, due to security concerns, a U.S. official announced on June 17.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has suspended inspections in Michoacan, Mexico's largest avocado-exporting state, until security conditions improve, according to the spokesperson, who requested anonymity due to agency policy. Inspections in other Mexican states remain unaffected.

Michoacan Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla informed reporters that Mexican authorities are in talks with U.S. officials to swiftly address the issue.

In February 2022, inspections of Mexican avocados were similarly suspended after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Michoacan received a threat. The suspension lasted about a week. Later that year, Jalisco became the second Mexican state authorized to export avocados to the United States.

Despite the current suspension, shipments of Mexican avocados to the U.S. will continue, as Jalisco is now a certified exporter, and many avocados from Michoacan are already in transit, the spokesperson noted.

Given that the United States also cultivates avocados, U.S. inspectors operate in Mexico to ensure that exported avocados are disease-free, protecting U.S. crops from potential harm.