The United States banned the imports of avocado from Mexico, and prices in the domestic market rose sharply, while in another part of the world, in Uzbekistan, avocado fell in price by 2 times. However, even before this ban, avocado prices in Uzbekistan decreased by about 25% due to another factor – the elimination of import customs duties.

EastFruit analysts explain that these factors have led to the fact that 3.5 months ago avocados, considered one of the most expensive fruits in Uzbekistan, have become much more affordable for many consumers in the country.

In the first ten days of October 2021, the government of Uzbekistan decided to exempt the import of a number of fruits, which included citrus fruits, exotic fruits, among them avocado, from customs duties. Prior to the decision, a customs duty rate of 10–20% but not less than $0.2/kg was applied, when importing these fruits. Of course, the decision by the government was very positive for consumers, as due to climatic conditions, Uzbekistan cannot grow the vast majority of fruits included in the list.

Note that avocados are sold in the supermarkets of Uzbekistan by piece.

As a result of the elimination of customs duties, retail prices for avocados in Uzbekistan decreased on average from 24 000 to 18 000 UZS/piece (from $2.2 to $1.66), i.e. by 25%, from the beginning of November to the end of December 2021. These are the best-selling green varieties of avocado in Uzbekistan and inexpensive on the global market.

In the early months of 2022, the global avocado market was rocked by an event that sent prices plummeting. The United States, the world’s largest importer of avocados, banned the import of avocados from Mexico, which in turn is the world’s largest exporter of avocados, as EastFruit wrote. The total value of avocado exports from Mexico to the US is estimated at about $3 billion, and the share of Mexico in total imports of avocados to the US is about 90%.

“Given already record high prices for avocados in the United States, as well as peak demand during this period of the year, the suspension of imports from the largest supplier country will undoubtedly lead to a shortage of avocados in the country’s supermarkets. In the context of a huge shortage of sea containers in the world, it will not be possible to quickly find a replacement for Mexico and arrange deliveries. After all, Mexico is a neighbor of the United States, and all other major suppliers of avocados in the world are considerably far from the United States. Even if the delivery can be organized, it will take a lot of time,” said Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

As a result, there was a huge surplus of Mexican avocados on the global avocado market and prices collapsed. In the USA, on the other hand, there was a shortage and prices rose sharply there.

Returning to Uzbekistan, from the beginning of January to mid-February 2022, retail prices for avocados decreased from 18 000 to 8 800 UZS/piece (from $1.66 to $0.81), i.e. 2 times. Moreover, according to EastFruit specialists, Hass avocados are sold at 8 800 UZS.

Thus, from the beginning of November 2021 to mid-February 2022, due to two factors – the elimination of import customs duties and the US ban on the import of Mexican avocados, retail avocado prices in Uzbekistan decreased from 24 000 to 8 800 UZS/piece, i.e. at least 2.7 times. In other words, in just 3.5 months, one of the most expensive fruits has become much more affordable for many consumers in the country.

Сообщение Uzbekistan: Avocado became affordable for consumers появились сначала на EastFruit.

The US announced a total ban on avocado imports from Mexico after a US plant safety inspector checking avocados prepared for shipment to the US received threats on his official phone.

According to EastFruit analysts, it will be almost impossible to replace Mexican avocados in the US market, since Mexico accounted for 92% of all US avocado imports in 2021. The import volume of avocados from Mexico to the United States increased by 8% in physical terms and by 25% in value terms over the year.

“Of course, this is a huge blow to the fruit and vegetable business in Mexico, for which avocados are the main export position, and the United States is the main market. For Mexico, exporting avocados to the US is a $3 billion business,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“Given current record high prices for avocados in the United States, as well as peak demand during this period of the year, the suspension of imports from the largest supplier country will undoubtedly lead to a shortage of avocados in the country’s supermarkets. In the context of a global shortage of sea containers, it will not be possible to quickly find a replacement for Mexico and arrange deliveries. After all, Mexico is a neighbor of the United States, and all other major global suppliers of avocados are far from the United States. Even the delivery itself, if it can be arranged, will take a lot of time. Therefore, most likely, in the near future the two countries will try to solve this problem,” adds Andriy Yarmak.

EastFruit analysts note that the US is by far the world’s largest importer of avocados. Mexico, by almost the same margin, is the world’s largest exporter. Therefore, the cessation of trade between the two largest global players in the avocado market is a severe shock for the global avocado market.

A market-wide halt in avocado imports from Mexico to the US was confirmed late on Saturday ahead of the Super Bowl in American football, the biggest selling opportunity of the year for Mexican avocado growers. In fact, there are no problems with the supply of avocados for the Cup, since these volumes have already been delivered to the USA.

American media reports that avocados have become the latest victim of drug cartels fighting for territory and extortion from avocado growers in the western state of Michoacán, the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export to the US market. The US government has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados “until further notice” after a threatening message was received by a US quarantine inspector in Mexico, the Mexican Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

“The US health authorities … made the decision after one of their officials inspecting in Uruapan, Michoacán, received a threatening message on his official mobile phone,” the department wrote.

The import ban was introduced on the same day that the Mexican Avocado Growers and Packers Association unveiled the advertisement for this year’s Super Bowl. For almost a decade, Mexican exporters ran expensive ads trying to permanently associate the consumption of guacamole (a traditional avocado-based dish popular in Mexico and the US) with the American Football Super Bowl tradition.

This year’s Mexican avocado ad in the US features Julius Caesar and a group of gladiators in front of the Colosseum. They settle their apparent differences by enjoying guacamole and avocados.

Since avocados are also grown in the United States, US inspectors are working in Mexico to make sure exported avocados do not carry diseases that could harm US crops. It wasn’t until 1997 that the US lifted a ban on the Mexican avocado that had been in place since 1914 to prevent a number of weevils, scab and other pests from entering American farms. Inspectors work for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

This is not the first time that violence in Michoacán, where the Jalisco cartel is leading a turf war against a group of local gangs known as the United Cartels, has threatened avocados, the state’s most lucrative crop.

Following a previous incident in 2019, the USDA warned of the possible consequences of an attack or threat against US inspectors. In August 2019, a group of USDA inspectors came under a “direct threat” in Ziraquaretiro, a city west of Uruapan. Although the agency did not elaborate on what happened, local authorities say the gang robbed the truck carrying the inspectors at gunpoint.

At the time, the USDA wrote in a letter that “in future situations that result in a security breach or pose an imminent physical threat to the well-being of APHIS personnel, we will immediately suspend the program.”

Many avocado growers in Michoacán say drug gangs threaten them or their family members with kidnapping or death unless they pay protection money, sometimes as much as thousands of dollars per acre. On September 30, 2020, a Mexican APHIS employee was killed near the northern border city of Tijuana.

Mexican prosecutors said Edgar Flores Santos was killed by drug dealers who might have mistaken him for a police officer and a suspect was arrested. The US State Department said the investigation “concluded that this unfortunate incident was due to Mr. Flores being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Сообщение Chaos in the global avocado market – the US has stopped all imports from Mexico появились сначала на EastFruit.

The global blueberry market has been waiting for a very important decision for several months. Last year, a group of blueberry producers in the United States formally requested additional tariffs on blueberry imports from several countries. A decision in favour of restricting imports would have potentially posed a direct threat to berry growers from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Canada, and Argentina. An increase in tariffs could also indirectly affect the entire global berry business seeing as the United States is the world’s largest importer of blueberries by a huge margin. In addition, the per capita consumption of blueberries in the United States is also much higher than in other parts of the world.

On February 15, 2021, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a verdict based on the results of the investigation. The ITC concluded that imports of fresh, chilled, and frozen blueberries did not significantly harm U.S. producers. The Commission found that the increase in blueberry imports did not cause serious damage and did not pose a serious threat to American producers.

The ITC was unanimous in its decision on the blueberry investigation meaning all members of the commission voted against the introduction of additional duties. The investigation was conducted pursuant to section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974. “As a result of today’s vote, the investigation has been completed. The Commission will submit its report containing the definition of the damage caused and its basis, to the President by March 29, 2021, and will not recommend introducing protective measures,” the ITC said. The investigation report will be available to the public after it is submitted to the President.

Read also: Berry business of 2020: summary and forecasts for 2021

Not surprisingly, the American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA), which includes growers from California, Georgia, Florida, and Michigan, is disappointed with the commission’s decision. “We disagree with the results of the commissioner’s investigation,” the ABGA said in a statement. “In order to review this case, U.S. blueberry growers provided ITC with extensive data confirming the significant damage caused by the surge in imports to U.S. blueberry price levels, especially during our critical growing and harvesting seasons.”

Nevertheless, representatives in the world horticulture trade breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if the tariff was approved, it would become an unpleasant precedent for the closure of markets by other countries. In turn, this would jeopardize multibillion-dollar investments in very promising areas of the horticulture business and would reduce the pace of development of the berry business in general.

“More than 250,000 tons of fresh cultivated and wild blueberries are imported by the United States every year, which is approximately five times more than the Netherlands, the world’s second-largest blueberry importer. Even then, the Netherlands buys berries for further resale while the United States buys exclusively for domestic consumption. Therefore, the decision taken in the United States is also positive for countries such as Ukraine, Poland, and Georgia because otherwise, larger volumes of blueberries from the Southern Hemisphere would be redirected to Europe, which would have lowered the overall price level for this berry,” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist of the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Ukraine itself is very rapidly increasing the imports of blueberries (by about 10 times!) outside its season of cultivation and sale within the country for the past two years. Supplies of blueberries from Peru (the world’s leading blueberry exporter) to Ukraine increased from 23 tons in 2018 to 174 tons in 2020. Imports from other countries in the Southern Hemisphere also continue to increase. Thanks to this, prices for blueberries continued to decline even in winter attracting the attention of an ever wider range of consumers. Accordingly, the growth of blueberry imports in winter had a positive effect on the consumption of this berry in summer creating additional opportunities for local producers.

Сообщение Global sigh of relief about ITC’s decision against additional blueberry import tariffs появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit reports, citing The Produce News, that the North American market seems to be under the threat of a new trade war between the United States and Mexico. Now, berries and other seasonal fruit and vegetable categories have come to the attention of the Donald Trump administration.

On September 1, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the USDA, and the US Department of Commerce presented a joint document that outlined the US Presidential Administration’s plan to protect the market from imports of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables, particularly from Mexico.

The plan envisages a whole series of further steps from the three indicated departments.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative is due to undergo an investigation to determine how much blueberry imports harm local US producers of the blueberry. Also, representatives of the department will negotiate with Mexico regarding threats to producers of strawberries, sweet peppers, and other seasonal and perishable foods in the United States.

The US Department of Commerce will study information on unfair subsidies to foreign producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables, including those located in Mexico.

In the meantime, the USDA will take steps to strengthen existing programs to support local farmers and prepare a program to promote American products in foreign markets.

The plan was released following a public hearing in August, during which about 300 written appeals were examined, and over 60 more testimonies were heard on the issue.

An example is the statement of Gary Wishnatzki, president of Wish Farms in Florida, which produces and sells fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Below are excerpts from the direct speech.

“Florida strawberry growers have had their ups and downs over the past fifteen years, and Mexico has become a major exporter during that time. I would like to point out that Florida areas have been stable for many years, while in Mexico, they are expanding rapidly. The average Florida grower does not have successful seasons to cover its losses during failed years. Mexican producers have lower production costs … because producers receive subsidies from their government, which is deliberately unfair and inappropriate … Widespread subsidies from the Mexican government are now directed to blueberry producers. Blueberry growers in Florida now face the same problems they previously faced with garden strawberry production. Under the Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, we do not have an effective mechanism for conducting a trade dispute.”

Сообщение Trump starts new trade war – now against berries from Mexico появились сначала на EastFruit.

The United States can begin a new apple season, having in storage large volumes of 2019 apple harvest. About this, in particular, writes the Journal of Business with reference to Todd Freiver, a president of the Washington Apple Commission (WAC). It is one of the most influential apple organizations in the world, which recently announced a significant increase in the budget for promoting apple exports.

In a typical year, about a third of Washington state apples are sold overseas, Todd says. According to Freiver, at the end of the current season, which ends with the beginning of September, the proportion of exported apples may not exceed 26%. At the same time, according to EastFruit, up to 70% of the US apple is grown in Washington state.

“I try to be optimistic,” says Freiver, who works at the office of the Apple Commission in Wenatchee, Washington. “But with COVID-19 we are trying to understand what retail will look like in the US and abroad. Export demand for apples is now unstable.”

Mexico and India are currently the main importers of apples from Washington State. However, quarantine in these countries, especially in India, prevented consumers from reaching markets and supermarkets, so apple consumption has plummeted, says Freiver. India currently ranks third in the world in the number of detected cases of COVID-19, second only to the United States and Brazil, while Mexico is ninth. Moreover, both countries are now among the five countries in the world with the fastest spread of the virus.

EastFruit analysts note that apple exports from the United States to India in April 2020 collapsed immediately by 45% compared to the same month of 2019, and in May 2020, the export was 27% lower than in May of the previous year. Deliveries to Mexico in May decreased by 17% compared to the same month of 2019, but apple exports to the Middle East increased several times: to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel.

Washington’s apple business is heavily dependent on India’s consumption of Red Delicious Red apples, Todd said. He also adds: “So far this season, we have not reached sales targets for any of the varieties.” Accordingly, if export fails to intensify, the next step for the organization will be an attempt to sell the apple on the domestic market.

“As a result, we may encounter a situation where more pressure will be put on the apple’s domestic prices … prices will fall, and then apple growers will be hit hard,” he says. “I doubt that the situation will improve much in the near future,” adds Freiver.

According to EastFruit, apple exports from the United States for the first eight months of the 2019/20 season, in fact, increased quite significantly – by 19%. At the same time, the main importers were Mexico, Canada, and Taiwan, each of which significantly increased the total volume of imports of American apples. However, exports to India decreased by 27% over this period. Deliveries to Hong Kong and Indonesia decreased less significantly, but apple shipments from the USA to Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Thailand increased even more significantly. Exports of American apples to Saudi Arabia and the UAE more than doubled over the entire season, partially attracting suppliers from Italy, France, Poland, and Ukraine to these markets, where apple prices were high.

Therefore, obviously, we are talking only about the problems that arose in May-June, when the COVID-19 began to spread rapidly in India and Mexico. Therefore, the United States fears that the plan for the export of apple may be frustrated. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that stocks can still be sold, primarily by increasing shipments to the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Сообщение Heaps of apples: US cannot sell storage of 2019 apple harvest появились сначала на EastFruit.