Mexico's Secretary of the Economy has determined low prices for U.S. apples have not lead to any harmful effects for domestic production, and as a result has reversed a previous decision to charge provisional duty payments on imports from the northern neighbor.

The decision today marks the end of an investigation which began on Dec. 4, 2014, prompted by complaints from the Regional Agricultural Union of Fruit Growers of the State of Chihuahua (UNIFRUT).

In January, some of the leading names in the U.S. apple industry were hit with fees reaching as high as 20.82%, but now it has been ordered those amounts be returned with interest.

The new ruling, published on Mexico's Diario Oficial, comes into effect on June 8.

Fred Scarlett of Northwest Fruit Exporters, the organization involved in coordinating industry defense efforts, emphasized the favorable outcome to Washington State shippers was the result of industry preparedness and a thorough response to all of the information requested by the Mexican Ministry of Economy.

“Our industry knows the importance of the Mexican market. Industry efforts to fully comply with all information requested, and the united response proved to the Ministry of Economia that there was no injury caused to Chihuahua growers by our exports," Scarlett said.

The U.S. is the primary supplier of imported apples into Mexico, with Washington accounting for roughly 90% of the total U.S. shipments.  Mexico is the largest export market for Washington apples; during the 13/14 season that was investigated, over 11 million 40-lb cartons worth US$230 million were shipped to the market.

It accounts for 27% of all Washington apple exports, and approximately 9% of the total crop.

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