The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), attached to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published this Wednesday the document “Pest Risk Assessment – Importation of Hass Avocado from Guatemala to the United States for consumption”, to which the productive and export chain reacted favorably.
The phytosanitary publication is part of a process to allow the export of fresh Hass avocado from Guatemala, an initiative that was presented to the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, during her visit to the country in June 2021.
The technical report was described as “a great step” and “a great advance” by representatives of the chain, who anticipate that the first shipments of the fruit could be made in the next harvest. This, given that it only remains to define the procedures for a plan that will be prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) and the USDA for the control and care of 10 pests and a disease mentioned in the APHIS report, as well as as the legal deadlines for the final resolution of admissibility.
On the other hand, this measure will allow the cultivation areas to expand and expand, generating employment to reduce migration to the United States. In addition, it will open opportunities for new small and medium-sized fruit producers who wish to export, as long as they comply with the phytosanitary requirements established in the official document.
In commercial terms, admissibility is understood as the ability to enter an international market and sell the products.
Low risk
Francisco Viteri García-Gallont, president of the National Avocado Association (Anaguacate), explained that the document released yesterday by APHIS is technical and constitutes a publication of the analysis of avocado pests and diseases for its entry into the US market. .
The document studies what type of pests exist in Guatemala and, based on this, determines that there is no significant risk that prevents the admissibility process of fruit harvested in Guatemala to enter the US market.
“What is said based on the analysis is that the United States determined that the risk incidences of the pests found are of low or slight importance. Based on that, a plan must be developed to mitigate the risk of these pests entering the US,” declared the president of Anaguacate.
The aforementioned plan must be developed jointly by MAGA and the United States authorities. With this analysis carried out, a list of the 10 pests and a disease on which mitigation must be carried out was established.
So, MAGA, as indicated in the APHIS report, is responsible for making a proposal in a work plan to mitigate these pests and ensure that the avocado that is harvested in Guatemala and enters the United States does not carry these pests, nor puts the agriculture of that country at risk.
“These processes are well regulated and are worked based on US regulations, which will potentially grant regulatory admissibility and regularize it. Now we are based on the times, deadlines and requirements that the United States will propose,” said Viteri García-Gallont.
To the doors
Mario Yarzebski, marketing manager of the Palo Blanco agro-exporter, commented that this publication is one of the most important steps and opens a 60-day opposition period that ends on May 28.
In this consultation period, the countries that produce and export fruit to the United States express their opinions or comments regarding the APHIS publication, and that is the part in which we are also now, “and it is a process not only for Guatemala but for other countries.”
“What is said based on the analysis is that the United States determined that the risk incidences of the pests found are of low or slight importance”
Francisco Viteri García-Gallont, president Anaguacate
Yarzebski clarified that avocado cannot yet be exported, but it is a necessary step. However, the most important thing is the treatment in the buffer zone that may make the export of small and medium-sized producers in the country viable or not. This buffer zone means that it is an area where the producer must have nearby pest control, although it is not necessarily part of his farm intended for export.
He cited as an example that, if a neighbor of some place that produces avocado for export has an avocado tree in his backyard and does not control it, how close should that control be, especially for small and medium producers.
Export capacity
Achieving admissibility will depend on several steps, and above all, on the political part between the governments of Guatemala and the United States. However, the expectation is that exports can be made by the end of the year. The issue is a priority for both government authorities.
Yarzebski stated that the total avocado export capacity will be ready for the next season, which has 350 containers, starting in the first half of September and ending in April of the following year.
Of that total, depending on the admissibility conditions, 60 percent (about 216 shipments) could be redirected. For what reason? It is because the United States receives fruit with a broader spectrum of specifications than the European one, and it will be easier to ship to the US market due to specifications and transit times.
“The United States is the natural market for Guatemala due to transit times and because it has a broader spectrum of specifications than the European market,” he said.
The president of Anaguacate agreed that, before the end of this year, all the technical approaches and the plan will be available from MAGA, and it will depend on “how the plan turns out so that producers can adhere to it and comply with that compliance program.”
“The United States is the natural market for Guatemala due to transit times”
Mario Yarzebski, Palo Blanco agro-export manager
In any case, it is expected that, once that work program and the rules and conditions are published, producers will comply with that program for eligibility.
Productive logic
Fernando Zuloaga, agricultural manager of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), emphasized that this APHIS publication is a project and achievement of the country that, without a doubt, occurred during this week’s visit of President Bernardo Arévalo to the United States. . This success is, in turn, part of a continued effort that has been developed institutionally between producers and exporters to work on the entire phytosanitary regulatory part.
In his opinion, achieving admissibility towards the United States market, in the phytosanitary part, and the publication of opposition by APHIS, will not find negative opinions that could stop access to the product. The fruit complies with the standard, so producers and exporters have adjusted to the phytosanitary provisions.
He stressed that the coming agreement is that the United States, together with MAGA, establish the mitigation measures that must be met to export.
“I am sure that the mitigation measures will be accessible, not outside the logic of production and phytosanitary control, and will allow many producers to join the avocado production chain,” he said.
The market
Anaguacate records indicate that in the 2023-2024 season, 11 thousand tons of fruit were exported to the European market, and the production area covered 7,500 hectares distributed in about 50 farms. The plantations are mature and are at their maximum production potential.
However, there is also young production of one to two years that is beginning to produce. For the next harvest, 2024-2025, a production of 15 thousand to 17 thousand tons of fruit is projected.
The potential of the avocado is broad, with excellent growing areas for its development, and it is considered an alternative to reduce migration. The main producing areas are Santa Rosa, the central highlands and the western part, small and medium scale, with an estimated three thousand producers.
In the United States, distribution channels for fresh avocado include supermarkets and restaurant chains, where guacamole is prepared with its own recipe, demonstrating its versatility. It is estimated that per capita consumption is three kilos.
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