Mission Produce, the world's leading sourcing, production, and distribution company for fresh Hass avocados, will implement a policy aimed at addressing illegal deforestation associated with avocado cultivation in Michoacán, Mexico.

“Illegal deforestation in Michoacán, where a significant majority of Mexico's total avocado production comes from, is an important issue for our Company and our stakeholders,” said John Pawlowski, president and COO of Mission Produce, in a statement.

“For that reason, we are taking steps to promote environmental stewardship in this area. Although we cannot solve the problem of illegal deforestation in this region alone, this policy demonstrates our commitment to being part of the solution and is intended to set a positive precedent in the industry,” he added.

According to the new policy, Mission Produce will prohibit its direct sourcing operations in Michoacán from sourcing avocados from the 279 orchards recently identified as being associated with illegal deforestation by the state's Secretary of the Environment.

Every quarter, the company will review and evaluate any additional orchards identified by the Environmental Ministry as being associated with illegal deforestation and will continue to explore available resources and methodologies to identify additional actions it can implement to address this important issue.

Policy on Illegal Deforestation in Mexico

In a document, Mission Produce notes that “we recognize that illegal deforestation associated with avocado cultivation in Mexico is an important issue for our stakeholders. While no single entity can solve this complex and systemic problem on its own, Mission Produce has been working in earnest to gather data and explore actions of our own to do our part.”

“Recently, the Ministry of Environment of the state of Michoacán issued a letter to us and other packers in Mexico identifying certain orchards that are or are in the process of being investigated for having been established on illegally deforested land after 2018,” the letter states.

With this information, the company has committed not to select or directly use for harvesting/harvest any of the identified orchards, which are on a “list” delivered to Missión Produce on August 30, 2024.

This list will be reviewed quarterly for possible updates generated by the Government of Michoacán - information that will be sent to the company by the Mexican entity itself - and, based on a stakeholder assessment, Mission Produce will consider whether, or to what extent, it will source directly from that orchard.

The company also committed to exploring other available resources and platforms to identify if there are additional actions to address the issue, including review and considerations including the “Pro-Forest” program established by the Michoacán state government.

The new policy was adopted by Missión Produce effective November 8, 2024.

You can review the full policy here.