por 
ALFREDO AZCARATE VARELA
THE BAJA POST/STAFF
Due to recommendations from NGOs regarding its supply chain and complaints filed by workers in the sector, Mexican avocado could lose ground ahead Super Sunday, according to Professor Bertha Martínez Cisneros expert from CETYS University (Baja California most prestigious private college).
Mexican avocado producers’ strategies to keep their avocado output as Super Bowl champion, need to be reconsidered, given the observations made from non-governmental organizations that have raised yellow flags, on supply chain procedures and complaints filed by workers in this sector, said Martínez Cisneros.
Thus, Mexican avocado could lose ground ahead of Super Sunday, said Martínez Cisneros, coordinator of the International Logistics Degree at CETYS University Campus Mexicali.
Climate Rights International (CRI), an international climate defense and monitoring organization, has sent recommendations to the USA and Mexico Governments aiming to oversee the sale and acquisition of avocado produced in illegally deforested orchards in some Mexican states.
In a report dating back to November 2023 by CRI, dubbed «Unholy Guacamole: Deforestation, Water Capture, and Violence Behind Mexico’s Avocado Exports to the United States and Other Major Markets,» the central subject is the environmental and social impact of avocado production after consumption in international markets, is reported.
Media and social media campaigns to communicate the results of this report may trigger a change in Mexican avocado submitted in North American markets, potentially harming the demand for the so called “green gold” in the United States, Sain Martínez.
«Likewise, recent complaints filed by workers in Mexican avocado sector before US government, under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), are a risk for continuity and growth of avocado exports, even though Mexico is the World’s number one avocado producer, other countries have also significantly increased avocado production, and even when they are still below Mexican production rates, they may eventually be considered as suppliers in case of a dispute among the trade partners of the USMCA.», said Professor Sánchez.
In the previous years, when an average of about 100 thousand tons of avocado were exported for the Super Bowl weekend, the aim to surpass this figure in 2024 is imminent for Mexican producers, who are ready to meet the demand of American consumers.
However, «this year game conditions seem different, the supply chain must undergo changes to respond. Mexican producers need to develop strategies to reinforce traceability of crops and their distribution, identifying the origin of the product and its contact points through technologies that help to take care of the environment, from cultivation to consumption,» detailed Martínez Cisneros.
Also, it is necessary to add improvement proposals for personnel operating the avocado supply chain, in order for them to comply with the framework established in the USMCA and also contribute to the sector´s productivity.
«Keeping Mexican avocado as the Super Bowl champion must involve all actors in its supply chain in Mexico so that Mexico remains number one avocado producer and exporter in the world.
A shared task between public and private that must be carried out according to the expectations of the new global markets,» concluded Professor Sánchez.
