United States, Canada, and Mexico: Support Investigation of Mexican Avocado Exports

Impunity for Avocado-Driven Illegal Deforestation Violates Regional Trade Agreement

(San Francisco, January 18, 2024)—The United States, Canadian, and Mexican governments should support an international probe into impunity for environmental law violations connected to avocado production in Mexico, Climate Rights International said today in a letter to each country’s top environmental official.

In February 2023, an anonymous Mexican citizen filed a complaint under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) alleging that Mexico is violating the trade deal’s requirement to “effectively enforce its environmental laws.” The complaint focuses on illegal deforestation and unsustainable water use for avocado production in the state of Michoacán, the hub of Mexico’s avocado industry, which produces most avocados sold in the United States.

“Our research shows that Mexico is failing to enforce its laws against illegal deforestation and water theft in the avocado export industry,” said Brad Adams, Executive Director of Climate Rights International. “This failure violates Mexico’s environmental obligations under the USMCA trade deal.”

A 250-page report released by Climate Rights International in November 2023 documents how avocados grown for export to the United States, Canada, and other major markets are fueling widespread illegal deforestation, water shortages, and other abuses in Michoacán and Jalisco. These are Mexico’s two biggest avocado-producing states and supply all Mexican avocados exported to the United States. The report also documents the near total impunity for that environmental destruction.