Consumers will continue paying high prices for avocados, as the dispute over the ban on Mexican imports in Costa Rica will be resolved by an international lawsuit and this process will last for several years.
The issue is the 15% higher cost of imported Hass avocados. Half of these imports currently arrive from Peru, with prices of $ 2 per kilo, and the other half from Chile, with a cost of $ 2.50. In comparison, the price of a kilo of Mexican avocados, which were imported up until last June, stood at $ 1.90.
Mexican imports are likely to remain banned for several years, until the dispute is submitted to the World Trade Organization after a Mexican complaint against Costa Rica for the alleged enforcement of unfounded protectionist measures.
Such litigations take at least one year to be resolved in ideal conditions; however, delays are common.
The need to protect the national production from infected Mexican avocados justifies the ban on their import, according to national authorities; however, spraying with a solution of water and chlorine would protect the fruit, according to the "Diseases of the Avocado" report of the United States Department of Agriculture. The so-called sunblotch viroid also affects only the fruit and not the trees themselves.
The United States, for its part, is gradually increasing its imports of Mexican avocados. Last year, it purchased 808,000 tonnes, compared with 322,000 in 2011.
Peruvian avocados, which partly replace the Mexican imports in Costa Rica, also suffered problems with the viroid, according to research conducted by the University of Chile; however, in 2014, the Chilean courts rejected the request to ban the import of Peruvian products.
Importing avocados is necessary for Costa Rica, as the domestic production can only cover 9% of the demand.
Mexico will issue a complaint against Costa Rica to the World Trade Organization, according to José Calzada, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food in an interview with the Mexican media last week.
