Mexican avocado producers are now able to export to the US without being affiliated to the Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico (Apeam) after the association was forced to agree to implement a series of changes to end the “monopolistic practice of tied selling”.
The Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) said it accepted Apeam’s proposal to enable non-members to access the administrative and phytosanitary services required for shipments to the US. Apeam is the only organisation in the country authorised to manage the fees for the USDA’s Aphis monitoring and phytosanitary certification services.
The US is Mexico’s biggest avocado market. Between July 2014 and January of this year more than 365,000 tonnes were shipped to the US, an increase of 39 per cent on the year-earlier period.
