Avocados from Michoacán in western Mexico could prove quite sustainable soon, as an origin certification program begins August 28, 2024.

Notably, this comes barely two months after a June 2024 routine avocado inspection exercise by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

For the current certification, certificates will only go to farmers who grow their fruits on land that is not deforested. 

Satellite images from the program will also identify orchards in illegal forestland and transmit them to the judiciary’s office. 

Analysts however cite that not all orchards will be easy to detect in the forestland.  Besides, the state has no power to force illegal producers from exporting. 

The aim of the certification is to notify consumers in export destinations that the avocados they purchase come from sustainable sources.

Though the sustainability stamps could satiate consumers’ goodwill, they will however not prevent producers in illegal lands from exporting. This is because the state’s government cannot force orchards to register for the certification program.

According to Daniel Wilkinson, senior adviser at Climate Rights International, the program’s outcome depends on firms that “choose to use it.”

Wilkinson however praises the move to certify avocados from Michoácan as a very welcome undertaking. 

Import demand ranks as the main cause of the deforestation of some 70,000 acres in Michoacán and Jalisco state.

The United States leads in imports, with every 8 out of 10 avocados that Mexico ships abroad going there. 

Between 2019 and 2023, American demand for Mexico’s avocados spiked by 48%, and brought in $3 billion in 2023.

The fruit’s guacamole is popular in American events such as the Super Bowl Halftime Show, with Michoacán being the key supplier.

In summary, avocados from Michoacán are undergoing origin certification and this could foster an anti-deforestation image. This will also strengthen the existing food safety program, where each orchard must meet sanitation guidelines under the Food Safety Modernization Act. To learn more on the state’s other scores such as production and exports, read on the statistics section below.

Statistics on Avocados from Michoacán and Mexico 

Avocado production in Mexico is synonymous with Michoacán on the Pacific Coast, which produces over 75% of the national output. In 2023, the state realized 2,252,780 tonnes, far outstripping its nearest rival, Jalisco at 323,230 tonnes.  To put this into perspective, Mexico produces 2,529,581 tonnes of avocados, per FAOSTAT data of 2022. 

In terms of acreage, Michoacán accounts for 72% of all avocado land area in Mexico, as of 2018. The state’s avocado acreage tripled from 58,798 hectares (1990) to 148,423 hectares (2016). As such, the fruit is a common site across the state’s total landmass span of 60,000 square kilometers. In hard figure comparative terms, Mexico had 234,821 hectares of land under avocados in 2022. 

How much avocado tonnage does Michoacán export a day? 

According to unofficial sources on Business Insider, Michoacán, apparently exports $1 million worth of avocados per day during peak season. This could be true given that 80% of all avocado consumption in the United States come from Michoacán alone.