USDA opens comment period for Colombian avocado access
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to update its regulations to allow Hass avocado imports from Colombia, which is projecting huge production growth in the coming years. 
The development comes weeks after a strike in the Mexican avocado industry created supply shortages in the U.S. market.
"To be eligible for import, the avocados would need to be produced under a systems approach and be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate to ensure they can be safely imported while still protecting U.S. plant health,", said a posting on the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website.
"At the request of the Colombian government, APHIS prepared a pest risk assessment and risk management document. This work identified four pests that are of high or medium concern, if left unmitigated."
It said these concerns would be addressed by the systems approach, which includes requirements that production locations and packhouses must be registered and follow specific sanitation, monitoring and pest control practices.
Shipments must also be inspected by Colombian plant health officials for quarantine pests.
"All shipments must have a phytosanitary certificate with an Additional Declaration stating they were produced under these conditions," APHIS said.
APHIS will accept public comments on the proposal until Dec. 27.
A conflict that gripped the Mexican avocado industry in the first half of October led to a significant supply issues in the U.S., and in a column for www.freshfruitportal.com industry veteran Avi Crane said he believed the USDA would 'fast-track' market access from South Africa and Colombia as a result.
Colombia now has around 14,000 hectares of avocado farms, and exports from 2010 to 2015 grew by more than 150%, leading avocados to become the most exported fresh fruit from Colombia, according to the country's National Department of Statistics (DANE).
Related stories: Colombia: Major avocado packhouse upgrade to aid ‘booming’ industry
U.S.: How will the Mexican strike affect other avocado suppliers?
The Hass Horn: Impacts of the Mexican avocado strike
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