Trent Loos
Columnist
What an interesting history of avocado production and consumption in the USA.
Because I have a limited amount of knowledge about avocado growing and marketing, despite having a relative in the business of selling this tree fruit, I thought I would do a little research into the implications of tariffs on Mexican imports as it affects avocado consumers. OH MY! I had no idea the history of these little gems and how getting them here isn’t much different than importing drugs from the cartels in Mexico. You can literally find pictures of armed guards around avocado trees in Michoacan, Mexico that are reportedly the cartels protecting their crop. This avocado thing is a very big deal with a ton of interesting history.
First off, let’s look at some consumption facts. Americans are “addicted” to avocados. Apparently, the region in Southern California best suited to growing avocado trees has never been able to grow enough to even satisfy the domestic market. USDA indicates that Americans eat the equivalent of 7 lbs of avocados annually. Thanks to a man named Mr. Rudolph Hass and his tree grafting skills, the production of avocados got much easier. Clearly genetics always have and always will matter.
Now for the history lesson. On February 27, 1914, B.T. Galloway, then Acting U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, signed a Notice of Quarantine Number 12, which stated: “I… do hereby declare that it is necessary, in order to prevent the introduction into the United States of the avocado seed weevil, to forbid the importation … from Mexico and Central America, the seeds of the avocado.” The authority for this action rested with section 7 of the Plant Quarantine Act, approved by Congress on August 20, 1912.
Right off there is nothing new about this trade dispute although the California avocado industry rightfully made that well known because of the risk to trees growing in Florida and California. That is basically how imports were banned until February 8, 1973, when the original avocado seed quarantine was terminated and 7 CFR Part 319 was amended concurrently, adding the avocado seed to the list of items prohibited from Mexico and all countries in Central and South America because of the avocado weevil on the justification that better protection was afforded by this regulation. That only lasted a short 20 years and the fight commenced again.
Mexico truly hit a gravy train and wanted to expand the approved area that avocados could come from into the U.S. On February 5, 1997, the USDA issued a Final Rule authorizing the importation of Mexican avocados into the U.S. subject to certain conditions. This was the first time USDA used the so-called “systems approach” to manage risks posed by multiple quarantine pests known to occur in the area where fruit was originating. The Final Rule allowed for shipment of Mexican avocados to 19 northeastern states during four months of the year—November through February.
This systems approach is still a big deal today. For example, we are importing pork from Poland even though wild hogs in Poland possess African Swine Fever. The wild hogs are from a “region” different than the location of the Smithfield Pork plant that sources our imports. In no way, shape or form do I believe that pork coming into the United States from Poland should be equivalent to avocados coming in from Mexico, but I am sure the avocado growers of California do not agree with me.
Fast forward to 2015 when the USDA lifted a ban, which had been in place since 1914, on all imported avocados from Mexico. The ban was initially put in place due to concerns about the Mexican fruit fly, a pest that can cause significant damage to avocado crops. However, with the implementation of new safety protocols and inspection procedures, the USDA deemed it safe to allow Mexican avocados into the US market. Since then, per capita avocado consumption in the U.S has ballooned from 2 pounds in 2001 to calendar year 2024 where it is in excess of 7 lb. per person annually.
The moral of the story is that there are a few things we can not produce here in the United States as easily as other countries can, but we still cannot put our domestic production at risk. The best thing I can ask for is that the next time you order guacamole or buy an avocado, you at least consider the all-out battle it has been to keep it on the menu as a choice for consumers in the domestic market.
