Love avocados? Biden admin caving to Mexican cartels could have devastating impact on wildly popular fruit

California avocado growers are sounding the alarm over a prospective infiltration of crop pests from across the boundary after the Biden administration caved to Mexican cartel threats and ended a Clinton-era food inspection process that now threatens U S farmers We understand the importance of free bargain Ken Melban the vice president of industry affairs and operations at the California Avocado Commission stated Fox Digital in a Tuesday Zoom interview Eight-five to of the total U S demand for avocados is supplied by Mexico However that free bargain should not increase menace on our California growers Our growers are working hard to maintain a business to drive their economic engine to provide for their families to encouragement the economies around them he declared And they shouldn't have to face a pest no fault of their own just because our executive in the past was afraid to stand up to the cartel Melban was reacting to a Biden administration decision in September to end a U S Department of Agriculture plan called the Animal and Plant Strength Inspection Function APHIS specifically in the context of inspecting farms in Mexico to ensure that avocados exported to the U S did not also include pests that could disrupt U S agriculture The framework change came after criminals in Mexico reportedly assaulted and threatened the inspectors in latest years EATING ONE TYPE OF FRUIT REGULARLY COULD REDUCE DIABETES EXPOSURE IN WOMEN INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS 'INCREDIBLY HEALTHY'Instead Mexico was charged with ensuring avocados sent across the margin were free of harmful pests such as seed and stem weevils and seed moths Weevils are small insects that typically have long snouts and are notorious for damaging or destroying crops The avocado industry is a multibillion business in Mexico but it is often rocked by crime and exploitation of farmers as cartels work to control the supply chain to help finance their operations and often exploit farmers through rackets that level fees on avocado growers in exchange for protection from violence various studies and reports on crime affecting the Mexican lime and avocado industry show Mexico's Agriculture Department ratified the Animal and Plant Vitality Inspection Utility plan ended in a message in September claiming with this agreement the U S medical safety agency is recognizing the commitment of Mexican growers who in more than years have not had any sanitary problems in exports the Associated Press shared at the time US HALTS INSPECTIONS OF POPULAR FRUITS FROM MEXICO OVER SAFETY CONCERNS USDAFormer President Bill Clinton established the inspection effort to better bolster U S farming communities with the California Avocado Commission and Department of Agriculture reaching an agreement with Mexico in to allow for Mexican avocados to be exported to the U S under the condition that the fruit be inspected All expenses related to the program's inspections of orchards and packing houses were footed by Mexico not U S taxpayers according to the commission The Biden administration also paused the venture in after an inspector in Mexico's western state of Michoacan received a threat against him and his family the USDA declared at the time Two other USDA employees were also reportedly assaulted and temporarily held by individuals in the same Mexican state in June leading to another pause before Mexico ultimately was charged with conducting inspections in September We know that without the U S regime present the likelihood for corruption exists Melban revealed of the lack of USDA inspector at this moment in Mexico You can't just show up one day and pretend that your grove has been certified and that you're taking all the measures necessary to keep pests out and free We also know that there has been fruit brought in from other non-certified groves in the past and that's part of the dilemma That's where we need the USDA to have boots on the ground and make sure that the inspections and the integrity of the inspections are maintained This entire inspection activity is funded by Mexico he added It's part of their privilege to come into our U S area SCHUMER MOCKED FOR CORONA AND GUAC CLIP WARNING TRUMP TARIFFS WILL HURT SUPER BOWL PARTIES 'NOT GOOD AT THIS'Michoacan has long been a hotbed for cartel activity with the State Department in September issuing a Do Not Expedition advisory for the Mexican state due to its high threats of kidnapping and crime according to the voyage advisory Michoacan and Jalisco are the only two Mexican states authorized to export avocados to the U S Particular residents and farmers of the Michoacan state have also formed various self-defense groups in the past decade to help protect against cartel violence We've all heard the stories and see the reporting that the cartel is very prevalent in Michoacan which is a big growing area and the first state that was ever allowed access to the U S And so it only stands to reason that they're going to be involved at particular level And in multiple instances they are literally exploiting our pure growers in Mexico too We're just looking for the safety of the entire undertaking so the integrity can be maintained to protect our growers' interests here in the U S Melban explained The USDA described Fox Digital on Wednesday that the APHIS undertaking continues to inspect fruit entering the U S at the perimeter and is comitted to mitigating plant healthcare peril in a way that does not compromise the safety and assurance of our employees or the phytosanitary assurance of the United States USDA s Animal and Plant Vitality Inspection Facility APHIS understands the vital importance of the avocado industry to the State of California and recognizes the concerns raised by residents APHIS staff continue to fulfill their inspection responsibilities regarding fruit entering the United States from Mexico Nearly years of experience administering this scheme has proved the effectiveness of the avocado effort s system of overlapping safeguards to prevent the entry of invasive pests a spokesperson commented Staffing levels and budget levels for the inspection project remain the same and our leaders continue to conduct inspections in the packing houses and provide audit oversight of orchard inspections conducted by Mexican Plant Wellbeing Leadership APHIS remains committed to mitigating plant soundness peril in a way that does not compromise the safety and prevention of our employees or the phytosanitary safeguard of the United States the spox continued APHIS is slated to continue working with and speaking to U S avocado growers according to the spokesperson and will keep them apprised of any future changes to the Mexico activity APHIS recognizes that given the dynamic nature of the avocado industry including fluctuating high and low seasons in Mexico and California time is of the essence with multiple of these decisions We will work to ensure that U S producers continue to safely grow avocados packinghouses continue to ship healthy fruit from Mexico and American consumers continue to enjoy this significant commodity the spokesperson announced California is the top U S producer of avocados with roughly growers statewide that generate billion annually Melban reported The industry however could be rocked if weevils or other pests are brought into the U S due to lack of inspection or corrupt inspections of the fruit We farm on about acres representing about farmers Melban commented That's just an average of acres per farmer So we are a small-scale industry by and large And I think that's pivotal because you're looking at family farms that have been in business this is the second third fourth generation for plenty of of them I've heard from them I've been with the industry for years and I heard all about the fight years to go to keep Mexico out And it was strictly from a phytosanitary peril perspective which is we don't want to see pests introduced into our growing production areas that would decimate our industry In addition avocado trees take years to mature meaning a anticipated pest infestation could impact in a three-to-four-year waiting period as the plants prepare to indeed produce fruit While the cost for recovery would fall on the roughly farmers who would also have to wade through state law on whether they could even use pesticides to kill the insects We're basically pesticide-free Melban noted But if you bring a pest in that we have no other means to control that's what's going have to happen just so these growers can fight to save their businesses And now you get into the domino effect and the collateral damage of using additional pesticides in an industry that we don't wanna use them in And I think the environmentalists should be very concerned There are collateral costs to this to our establishment in the past administration retreating in the face of threats from cartels Five Republican California lawmakers wrote a letter to Trump administration Agriculture Secretary Booke Rollins in March sounding the alarm on how the Biden administration ended the venture due to the ongoing threats from cartels In late APHIS without advance notice unilaterally removed all USDA inspectors from Mexican avocado orchards because of ongoing physical threats to their safety by Mexican cartels As a direct aftermath of threats USDA-inspections were canceled and replaced by Mexican independent review the letter spearheaded by Republican California Rep Darrell Issa stated BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS ENRICHED AND EMBOLDENED THE MEXICAN CARTELS TOM HOMAN America retreated in the face of cartel threats and as a outcome almost this instant following this change greater numbers of destructive weevils were detected at packing facilities which evidenced a breakdown in the inspection process and an increase in the likelihood of pest infested avocados slipping through the system and cross into the United States the letter continued BIDEN IS USING HIS POWER TO AID AND ABET THE MEXICAN CARTELS KEN PAXTON Congressman Issa has been a real champion for us on this Melban communicated Fox Digital of Issa's leadership since the Biden decision in September About - of our total production falls within his district and his district borders Mexico He understands the threat that's posed here to his constituents and he's working very hard to get this decision overturned