MEXICO CITY (AP) — Under rule changes by the U.S. Department of Agriculture all of Mexico can get in on filling the seemingly insatiable appetite for avocados north of the border.
The U.S. embassy in Mexico said in a statement Friday that the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was amending regulations to allow the importation of Hass avocados from all parts of Mexico.
Exporters will have to implement a number of safeguards, but will no longer be limited to the western state of Michoacan. The statement said the state of Jalisco already meets the requirements and is expected to export about 13,000 metric tons of avocados in the first year.
The U.S. imported $1.5 billion of avocados from Mexico in 2015, up 18 percent on the previous year.
