USDA Fails to Acknowledge CAC's Concerns, Finalizing Guatemala Access
The California Avocado Commission was informed on November 7, 2024 by United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service the Final Rule for the Pest Risk Analysis for the Importation of Fresh Hass Avocado From Guatemala Into the United States and its Associated Risk Management Document will be published in the Federal Register November 8, 2024.
This announcement follows two public comment periods, the first in late 2022, and most recently May 2024. In both rounds the Commission provided detailed comments. In our May 20, 2024, comments the Commission called on USDA for the following action items:
- “At a minimum, an updated [pest] survey should be conducted before the RMD (Risk Management Document) is finalized to ensure all the relevant plant pests have been identified.”
- “We oppose the self-regulation and self-oversight model being proposed. Such a model is fraught with problems, especially in foreign countries with a history of unstable governments where the integrity of those government officials is often demonstrated to be compromised. APHIS must have a clearly defined increased oversight role in monitoring the protocols outlined to ensure the process is not corrupted. The risks to the California avocado industry are simply too great to accept anything less.”
In early October we informed USDA the Commission was sending Dr. Mark Hoddle down to Central America, including Guatemala, to follow up on the pest scouting work Dr. Hoddle conducted in the early 2000's.
In our meeting today with USDA, CAC Chair Cole and I asked why USDA would not wait a year for Dr. Hoddle’s preliminary results? USDA’s response: “You’ve had since 2022 to send him down.” To which we replied, our decision was driven by USDA’s unilateral mishandling of avocado inspections in Mexico over the last six months, that USDA’s lack of inclusion or even communication has caused us to have zero confidence USDA is properly looking out for California grower interests. The fact that USDA, the agency in place to represent and assist California avocado growers, would respond this way is unacceptable.
We made it clear the Commission and the California avocado industry we serve firmly believe USDA is not looking out for the interests of California growers. We assured USDA the Commission will continue to oppose this decision, and get louder, until USDA demonstrates they are fulfilling their responsibility to protect domestic growers from the introduction of invasive pests.
USDA informed us the details of the “systems approach” will be worked out and agreed to by both countries, but it will not include USDA employees in Guatemala.
Please consider emailing USDA personnel (contact information below) voicing your outrage to USDA’s actions and calling on USDA to delay market access until Dr. Hoddle’s scouting of the region can be conducted and preliminary results confirmed.
Comments can be submitted via email as follows, with the subject line “Re: Importation of Guatemalan Avocados Into the United States”:
Thomas J. Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
[email protected]
Dr. Mark Davidson
Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine
[email protected]
Matthew Rhoads
Executive Director, USDA APHIS
[email protected]
