The California Avocado Commission is providing growers with an update concerning our continued efforts calling for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate its original inspection protocols of avocados from Mexico. We continue to work every angle to build awareness concerning the threat posed to California’s $1.5 billion avocado industry by the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw USDA inspectors from avocado orchards in Mexico.
Last week CAC released a report entitled, The Growing Threat to California Avocados: Why USDA Must Reinstate Inspection Protocols in Mexico, to the media. The report, which is available on the California avocado grower website, outlines our concerns and:
- Provides background concerning the landmark U.S.-Mexico avocado inspection agreement that was in place from 1997 – 2024
- Outlines the policy shift that led to the collapse of phytosanitary enforcement safeguards designed to protect the U.S. avocado industry
- Offers data demonstrating the escalating pest threat since the withdrawal of USDA inspectors
- Details the potential economic and environmental consequences if the pests arrive in California — one of the last major avocado-producing regions that remains free of avocado seed weevils and fruit-feeding moths
- Calls for President Trump to reinstate the Operational Work Plan, and return USDA inspectors to Mexico groves
The report has garnered widespread traction in media markets since its release, including broad coverage by most TV and radio stations in the Los Angeles market — the second largest media market in the U.S. Growers are encouraged to review the following media reports that capture, to date, the coverage CAC’s report has received.
- TVEyes report — lists TV and radio coverage
- Cision report — lists online articles
- Ken Melban appearances on Fox News:
Growers are welcome to view a video compilation of interviews and media coverage online.
The Commission will continue to provide updates on our call for USDA to reinstate inspectors in Mexico avocado groves. To assist the Commission in building awareness about this threat to our industry, we encourage growers to share the Commission’s report with others.