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A30 WORLD NEWS
Diabierna 18 Februari 2022

Experts see avocado price rise, damage to Mexican producers

(AP) — Experts say you shipped north, there were Michoacan, the fruit has be-
may be paying more for signs Thursday that supplies come a staple in the United
your avocado toast in the will tighten and companies States, where per capita con-
short term, and the effects that import avocados may sumption of avocados tripled
of the U.S. temporary ban have to look beyond Mexi- since 2001 to 8 pounds per
on imports of the fruit is co, which currently supplies person in 2018.
already being felt by avo- about 80% of U.S. imports of
cado pickers in Mexico. the fruit. “The moment you hit some-
“I think it is going to increase body’s avocado toast at
Mexico is negotiating secu- prices in the United States, brunch, that’s like hitting the
rity guarantees for U.S. in- not now because there is very heart of many American
spectors who certify Mexi- still avocado in transit, but I families that rely on that Sun-
can avocados for export. The anticipate that in a week or day brunch, right? So all of a
inspections were halted last 10 days we will have a price sudden, we’re getting kind of
week after one of the U.S. spike,” said Miguel Gómez, perhaps in mid-March,” Gó- Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedol- questions as to ... where are
inspectors was threatened in professor of applied econom- mez said. la. the priorities here?” said De-
the western state of Michao- ics and management in the Peru, Colombia and Chile sirée LeClercq, a professor of
acan, where growers are rou- Cornell SC Johnson College already ship avocados to the But in the meantime, avo- employment law at Cornell’s
tinely subject to extortion by of Business. United States, but in quanti- cado growers in Michoacan School of Industrial and La-
drug cartels. ties that are only a tiny frac- have been left in uncertainty; bor Relations.
Jack Hartung, the chief fi- tion of Mexico’s production. avocados can be left on the
Avocado pickers stood on a nancial officer of the Chipo- That may change. trees for a certain amount of That raises the issue of
roadside this week outside tle restaurant chain, said in a time, but already-harvested whether Americans would
the city of Uruapan, Michoa- statement that “we are work- “I was talking with a few buy- fruit has to be shipped quick- be willing to pay more for
can, asking for donations after ing closely with our suppliers ers of avocado domestically, ly. avocados not associated with
they lost their work. Holding to navigate through this chal- and on toward the future. violence, drug cartels or de-
up signs saying “Voluntary lenge. Our sourcing part- They they know they need to “We have the uncertainty; if forestation.
donations” and “We make ners currently have several diversify suppliers,” said Gó- it (the export production) is
our living off avocado pick- weeks of inventory available, mez. “The issue is that they going to go into the domes- “It’s requiring Americans
ing,” they waited for motor- so we’ll continue to closely realized that it would be very tic market, all into Mexico, to really ask themselves, do
ists to drop spare change into monitor the situation and ad- risky to depend on a single prices will drop,” said avoca- they want to pay more to
buckets they held. just our plans accordingly.” source. do buyer and distributor José have a quality product or do
Manuel Garcia Tovar. “So we they want to kind of look
“Since last Wednesday we Gómez expects any shortage The avocado growers asso- are in a situation in which the other way and be able to
haven’t picked anything,” would be short-lived. ciation and Michoacan state growers may or may not want slice their toast accordingly?”
said one of the workers, who officials have been holding to harvest.” said LeClercq. “And I think
refused to give his name “I think that the the disrup- meetings this week with U.S. that consumers are becom-
because of the widespread tion in the market will be very officials to work out security It also remains to be seen ing more educated on how
violence in the state. “In the short now because (avocado guarantees for U.S. inspec- how U.S. consumers will re- these products are made. But
meantime, you die of hun- from) Peru is going to come tors. act if they start seeing prices whether or not that’s going
ger.” in late March, early April, rise. While there is concern to trickle into consumer be-
and I’m sure they are going to “We are working to restore about the deforestation and havior, I think has yet to be
While avocados that were al- do everything it takes to start avocado exports as soon as violence that have resulted seen.”
ready inspected can still be shipping avocados earlier and possible,” wrote Michoacan from the avocado boom in

With fast-track passports, Russia extends clout in Ukraine

(AP) — Ivan Malyuta, a more outrage in Kyiv, with
resident of Donetsk, a both the Foreign Ministry
city in eastern Ukraine and parliament releasing
controlled by Moscow- statements condemning the
backed separatists, move.
applied for Russian
citizenship this month Putin hasn’t said how he
and said he, his wife and will act on the request, but
three children will soon be signaled he wasn’t inclined
getting Russian passports. to support the idea, which
would violate a 2015
“I want to be a citizen of the agreement about their status.
Russian Federation. We are
moving towards this, aren’t Political analysts agree the
we?” he said at a Donetsk Kremlin is unlikely to back
migration service office. independence for Donetsk
in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Besides the quick path invasion. Foreign Minister and Luhansk any time
Malyuta and his family will shortly after annexing Crimea to citizenship, Russia has Dmytro Kuleba urged the soon, but will continue to
join more than 720,000 in response to a popular offered residents of the European Union last week to reap political benefits from
residents of rebel-held areas uprising in Kyiv ousting a self-proclaimed Donetsk impose sanctions on Russia its involvement in eastern
in eastern Ukraine who have Kremlin-friendly president. and Luhansk republics for “its illegal mass issuing Ukraine.
received Russian citizenship membership in the Kremlin’s of Russian passports to
and passports in a fast-track Moscow has denied ruling party and other perks, Ukrainian citizens.” “It’s a form of keeping the
procedure widely seen as deploying troops or weapons such as its COVID-19 pressure on Kyiv, destabilizing
an attempt to underscore to the rebel-held areas, vaccines or trade preferences On Tuesday, Russian it and hindering Ukraine’s
Russia’s influence in the with government officials for local manufacturers. lawmakers appealed to movement towards European
region. repeatedly stressing that President Vladimir Putin to values, towards NATO,”
Russia is not a party to the Ukraine has been appalled recognize the independence said Moscow-based political
Russia threw its weight conflict, which has killed by the efforts amid rising of the two self-proclaimed analyst Dmitry Oreshkin.
behind a separatist insurgency over 14,000 people. tensions and fears of a new republics, eliciting even