MEXICO CITY — The US government extended the import permits for avocados to Guatemala on Friday, but does not expect this to lead to cheaper guacamole anytime soon.
For nearly three decades, Mexico has been virtually the sole source of imported avocados — along with small amounts from South America — due to concerns that plant diseases and pests could affect U.S. growers.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala said initial exports from Guatemala could amount to about 1,700 tons per year. But that’s still a drop in the ocean compared to Mexico’s annual exports of 1.4 million tons.
The US Department of Agriculture has published a conclusion allowing fruit from Guatemala.
“The risks of introducing or spreading plant pests or noxious weeds from imported fresh Hass avocado fruit can be successfully mitigated using a systems approach, allowing only commercial fruit, registration of warehouses and production sites and additional protection measures,” the department wrote .
The United States has attempted to impose similar safeguards on Mexican avocados for decades, but American inspectors have sometimes been confronted with violence or threats when they tried to enforce the rules.
The embassy stressed that although the new rules have been published, “additional steps are required before avocado exports can begin,” an apparent reference to registering and inspecting orchards and warehouses.
The embassy said “the announcement is a major step forward for Guatemalan Hass avocados in reaching American households, something that will mean economic prosperity for local growers.”
It said the announcement will create more jobs and higher incomes, “provide better opportunities for local communities and provide alternatives to irregular migration.”
While avocado farming has provided a good income for many small landowners in Mexico, it has also caused deforestation as residents cut down native pine forests to plant avocado orchards. And Drug cartels have extorted money from growers and packaging plants in Mexico.