The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced in a press release the authorization to import fresh Hass avocado (Persea americana var. Hass) fruit from Guatemala into the United States.

The government organization says that "after thorough, careful analysis and thorough research, APHIS has determined that this commodity can be safely imported from Guatemala into the United States with appropriate mitigations."

APHIS concluded that "the risks of introducing or spreading plant pests or noxious weeds from imported fresh Hass avocado fruit can be successfully mitigated using the Systems Approach, allowing commercial fruit only, packinghouse and place-of-production registrations, and additional safeguarding measures."

This change will be effective on publication in the Federal Register on November 8, 2024.

Guatemalan industry reacts

The Guatemalan Association of Avocado Producers (ANAGUACATE) said in a statement that "this milestone is of great value to continue the growth of Hass avocado cultivation in Guatemala, opening opportunities, especially for small and medium scale producers, generating important economic development in areas prone to migration."

In 2020, a group of Guatemalan avocado producers requested the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food to initiate the process of admissibility of Guatemalan avocado var. Hass to the United States market in free sites under a systems approach. This process has been carried out with technical rigor and thanks to teamwork between government agencies and Guatemalan avocado producers, ANAGUACATE said in the statement. 

"ANAGUACATE thanks the Guatemalan avocado producers who have believed in, trusted, and supported this initiative, the U.S. Government, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"As ANAGUACATE, we have been working since 2020 in training, strengthening, and transferring technical knowledge so that the largest number of producers, regardless of their scale, can comply and join in exporting to the U.S. market. Producers are ready to comply. We will continue working and providing the necessary support in the steps ahead," they concluded.

The Association believes that the entrance of Guatemalan avocados to the U.S. market will generate employment and prosperity in plantations, packing facilities, and the entire avocado production chain, as well as in related services that will contribute to the country's economic development.