Nayarit cracks open US market access for avocado shipments
Editor's note: Following the publication of this news item, the Association of Avocado Producers and Exporters of Mexico (APEAM) clarified in a public statement that, to date, there is no official document or agreement signed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS) authorising the incorporation of the State of Nayarit into the programme for exporting avocados to the United States.
The western-central state of Nayarit has secured approval to begin avocado exports to the United States. The region is the third Mexican state to receive US market access, joining Michoacán and Jalisco.
State officials say the authorization follows coordinated work with Mexico’s National Service of Sanitation, Innocuousness, and Quality (SENASICA for its initials in Spanish) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS).
“After rigorous inspection visits to orchards in San Pedro Lagunillas and Santa María del Oro, authorities confirmed that Nayarit fully complies with the strict phytosanitary standards established in the Operational Work Plan (PTO), Systems Approach for the Importation of Fresh Hass Avocados from Mexico to the United States,” the state’s government said in a statement.
The release credits Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro’s agricultural industry agenda for the state's new US market access. The document adds that the milestone “opens up new opportunities for farming families and positions itself on the international agri-food map.”
Industry reacts to new US market access
In statements collected by the Nayarit government, National Rural Workers Confederation (CNC for its initials in Spanish) President Carlos Castillón says this new US market access is the result of decades of demands from the state’s growers.
The representative stressed that while Nayarit’s production significantly contributes to international exports, it had yet to be distinguished with its own seal of origin. Avocados from the state previously had to go through Michoacán to be admitted into the US.
“Of the enormous amount of avocados exported by Mexico to the US, 35 percent come from us. Now that the fruit will carry the Nayarit seal, it will undoubtedly give us a real chance to show what production in this fertile land is all about,” he says.
Castillón adds that there are currently thousands of acres with high potential for avocado cultivation, which will allow the state to continue expanding production.
Joel Jiménez, avocado producer and commissioner of Lo de Lamedo, adds that this new US market access will mark a “profound change” for the Nayarit countryside.
“Producers will now be able to get a better price. I believe that this opportunity, opened up by the governor, together with SENASICA, to reach the US market directly, obliges us to become better producers,” he says.
A new pit stop in the Mexican avocado pipeline
Michoacán remains Mexico’s dominant avocado producer, supplying an estimated 70 to 75 percent of the country’s fruit. It also leads Mexican exports to the US and Canada.
Jalisco, which gained US market access in 2022, ranks second in volume and has expanded production in recent years.
The State of Mexico, Nayarit, and Morelos follow in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. According to the release, Mexico and Morelos serve primarily domestic buyers, while Nayarit supplies both national and international destination markets.
*All photos courtesy of Nayarit Government.
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