Mexican Avocados a Danger to U.S. Crop

This letter responds to a recent spate of articles accusing the California avocado industry of “stonewalling” the importation of Mexican avocados. California is depicted as enjoying a monopoly in the U.S. market and its producers as seeking to embargo all avocados from other sources. Such is not the case.

Granting that California producers, as producers of any sort, dream of private and unlimited markets, we understand that this can never be the case. Currently Chile, the Dominican Republic and others export to the United States freely under controlled provisions and we do not object. These imports, however, differ from the proposed Mexican shipments: Michoacan and other parts of Mexico have serious avocado pests which Chile and the Dominican Republic do not and which are not present in California. These pests travel on avocados. If they are introduced to California, there is a good chance that our currently healthy avocado industry could be destroyed.

Mexico claims to have procedures in place that will prevent the introduction of such pests to the United States and that Mexican avocados would not end up in the hands of consumers in California. The fact is, however, that while Mexican scientists have had the opportunity to conduct necessary research and have been told exactly what research would be necessary to qualify their avocados for shipment to the United States, they have not yet performed it. This fact has been repeatedly testified to by a broad array of California and U.S. scientists.

California avocados are raised in one of the most difficult environments in the avocado producing world. Our industry serves under conditions of water shortages, limited arable land and must compete with urbanization and other agricultural activities. On top of that, we are subject to unequaled regulatory restrictions by the Environmental Protection Agency and others. One of the few advantages which California avocado producers do enjoy is a relatively pest-free environment, due in large part to historical stringent phytosanitary requirements for importation of plants and produce.

It has been argued that the importers from Mexico will be restricted to a limited period during the year and only to northern and eastern states where avocados are not grown. Our government, however, is not competent to restrict shipment of “cheap” imported avocados from these eastern states to avocado growing regions.

California avocado growers believe ours is an industry that should not be sacrificed on the altar of helping the economy of another nation by uncontrolled trade.

W. H. BROKAW

Saticoy

W. H. Brokaw is vice president of Brokaw Nursery Inc.