Mexico destroys up to 52 tons of avocados after seed weevil detection

By Elena Vasquez

Mexico growers destroyed up to 52 tons of export-bound avocados after authorities detected seed weevil larvae in fruit intended for the United States and other markets.

Videos circulating on social media showed growers unloading truckloads into pits, where the fruit was burned and buried under pest-control protocols. The disposal occurred over the weekend as shipments were detained.

Environmental officials in Michoacán, Mexico’s largest avocado-producing state, confirmed the pest on Sunday, according to Reuters. Growers from Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit took part in the disposal.

Mexico’s National Service of Health, Food Safety and Food Quality, or SENASICA, supported the disposal to prevent the pest from spreading. The action covered fruit destroyed by growers in four states, although only two currently have authority to ship fresh avocados to the United States.

“The potentially contaminated avocados had not entered commercial markets,” Michoacán Environment Minister Alejandro Méndez told Reuters. The avocado seed weevil can bore into the fruit’s seed, spread through orchards and threaten production when infestations remain uncontained.

What does the pest discovery change for shippers?

For now, the contaminated fruit has not entered commercial markets, limiting direct exposure for U.S. buyers. For shippers, additional inspections and shipment holds could delay deliveries from Mexican packinghouses to U.S. distribution centers.

For carriers, those holds could disrupt refrigerated schedules and tighten usable truck capacity through Texas. Forwarders would need to reset pickup and delivery windows while shipments remain detained.

Mexico’s avocado industry relies heavily on refrigerated trucking and cross-border distribution networks to supply U.S. grocery stores, restaurants and food distributors. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts Mexico will export approximately 1.31 million metric tons worldwide in 2026, including 1.2 million metric tons to the United States.

The U.S.-bound share represents roughly 92% of forecast exports. That concentration makes inspection interruptions material for exporters, carriers and forwarders serving the northbound market.

Only Michoacán and Jalisco currently have authority to ship fresh avocados to the United States. Shipments must comply with phytosanitary requirements and inspections designed to prevent agricultural pests from entering the country.

How much cross-border activity is exposed?

U.S.-Mexico avocado trade generates an estimated $641.5 million in cross-border transportation and warehousing activity. That logistics spend connects Mexican packinghouses with the receiving and distribution network serving U.S. produce markets.

Nearly 98% of Mexican avocados entering the U.S. in 2024 traveled by truck through Texas land ports, primarily Pharr and Laredo. Road transport’s near-complete share makes additional inspections along that route relevant to reefer availability, appointment planning and transit times.

What disruptions came before the pest finding?

U.S. authorities temporarily suspended avocado export inspections in Michoacán in August. The action followed security concerns involving USDA personnel and interrupted shipments from Mexico’s largest production region.

More recently, growers in Michoacán staged protests over low farm prices, disrupting harvesting and transportation operations. An Oct. 28 El País report estimated that the demonstrations could reduce U.S.-bound shipments from approximately 1,100 containers to 600 during the week.

That would be a reduction of 500 containers, or roughly 45%, according to the same estimate. The pest discovery now adds a phytosanitary variable to an export chain already confronting inspection stoppages and protest-related volume losses.

For exporters, the immediate issue is whether detained shipments clear without further delays. For carriers, the question is whether refrigerated fleets can maintain schedules through Texas; forwarders face revised pickup windows if protest-related shipment reductions persist.

What should shippers and carriers watch next?

Three indicators will determine the commercial effect:

• Whether authorities expand inspections or extend shipment holds after further pest findings.
• Whether weekly U.S.-bound container volume moves back from 600 toward the estimated 1,100.
• Whether reefer capacity through Pharr and Laredo tightens as shipments wait for inspection clearance.

The next policy signal will be whether inspection controls expand beyond the affected shipments. Any extension could tighten reefer capacity at Pharr and Laredo and put upward pressure on cross-border rates, although the source reports no new rate or capacity figure.