U.S. government allows Mexican avocado imports to resume after brief suspension

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that imports of Mexican avocados could resume after a brief pause.

A week ago, one of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspectors was threatened, leading to the suspension of imports of the fruit from Mexico. On Friday, the agency said additional safety measures have been enacted after working with the U.S. Embassy, Mexico’s national plant protection organization and a Mexican avocado trade group.

Inspections of avocados in the Mexican state of Michoacan have restarted, and exports of the avocados to the U.S. have resumed.

The pause came during peak growing season for Mexican avocados, which lasts from January to March, and just before the Super Bowl, which is the most popular time of the year for U.S. avocado consumption. Experts predicted soaring prices and shortages if the issue wasn’t quickly resolved because of the reliance of Mexico for avocados. Last year, 92% of avocados consumed in the U.S. came from Mexico.

Michoacan is the only Mexican state fully authorized to sell its avocados to the U.S., although a second one, Jalisco, recently received approval to start exporting its avocados this summer.