Morelia, Mich. , February 12. The Michoacán government is preparing an environmental certification scheme to prevent the export to the United States of avocados produced in forested areas where land use has been changed without proper permits.
Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, the Morena party governor, acknowledged that "it is urgent" to take this measure to ensure that orchards comply with appropriate standards to protect the environment and prevent the sale of fruit grown in those that are not properly managed.
"It is a priority and the responsibility of the federal and state governments to ensure that those involved in the production chain coordinate to comply with the law," the president emphasized.
He noted that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has very specific values, such as respect for labor rights and environmental issues, factors that all three countries involved must comply with; that's why "we already have the certification scheme ready," he stated.
In this context, on February 2, an individual filed a complaint with the USMCA environmental commission regarding the damage caused to the natural environment by irregular avocado planting due to the overexploitation of water and the impact on the state's forests.
According to state authorities, no land-use change for avocado cultivation has been authorized for at least 20 years; however, there are currently approximately 180,000 hectares of avocado plantations in Michoacán, compared to only 120,000 hectares 20 years ago, according to various producer associations.
Even in the last forest fire season (2022), the state Environment Secretariat filed 80 complaints considering that there were fires caused to be able to carry out the change of land use.
The avocado belt covers 46 municipalities accredited for export, with 154,000 hectares, where approximately 80 percent of the fruit sold to other nations is planted. Based on data from the Bank of Mexico, it is estimated that avocado exports in 2022 would have generated revenue for Mexico of more than $3.3 billion.
