Mexican avocado companies no longer need to be members of the Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico (APEAM) if they want to ship to the U.S., and will not be obliged to pay the organization fees for research or lobbying either.

In a release, Mexico's Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) said it accepted commitments from APEAM that it would "remove and correct the monopolistic practice of tied selling".

For packhouses wishing to eport Hass avocados to the northern neighbor, APEAM is the only organization in Mexico authorized to administer fees for U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) supervision and phytosanitary verification services.

COFECE highlighted that until the recent commitment, packhouses wishing to access these services had to be affiliated with APEAM and also pay for additional fees services including research projects, lobbying, U.S. market monitoring and U.S. promotion activities.

"This conduct of tied selling had the probable objective or effect of displacing or preventing the access of packers that didn't necessarily want to form part of APEAM or pay for additional services," COFECE said.

At the time of writing, APEAM had not responded to requests for comment on the matter.

Photo: APEAM

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