MEXICO CITY — U.S. consumers, the primary market for Mexico’s $3 billion avocado export business, will have uninterrupted access to the coveted crop as growers continue to work despite the coronavirus.
Unlike the beer industry, which reduced operations to a minimum after the Mexican government declared a health emergency, the avocado farmers do not plan to slow down.
“Growers and packers are working to supply current and future demand for all their markets,” APEAM, an association that represents growers in the western state of Michoacán, the country’s top avocado producer, said in a statement.
Late last month, Mexico ordered the suspension of all economic activity not deemed essential in an attempt to contain the coronavirus, which has spread rapidly in the country.
Avocado growers and packers “have intensified prevention measures throughout the production process… to guarantee the safety of the fruit,” said APEAM, adding that it has seen no reports of COVID-19 infection among workers in the state.
The United States is the top consumer of Mexican avocados, snapping up thousands of tons each year to make guacamole, a favorite Super Bowl snack.
After Canada, Japan is the number-three destination for the crop.
