Mexico is set to begin guava exports to the US after the USDA concluded that there were no health risks associated with shipments of the product from its southern neighbour.
The director in chief of Mexico’s council for agricultural health and safety, Enrique Sánchez Cruz, told Teorama Ambiental that effective measures for the export of guavas to the US had been put in place, measures which will include irradiation treatment of the produce.
Mexico’s department of agriculture has predicted that exports of guava to the US could register returns of some US$80m during the first year.
Guava is grown on an estimated 23,606ha in the country, which produce some 264,903 tonnes every year. Although the fruit is produced in 24 states, the regions of Michoacán, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas represent 89.2 per cent of land under guava cultivation.
