23-05-2025
California officials seek help from Trump amid threat to avocado crops
GILROY, Calif. - State officials are in the uncomfortable position of asking for help from the Trump administration. This, after a possible infestation in Mexico, is affecting a popular fruit that's exported to this country.
With winter in the rearview mirror, California avocados are moving to the forefront on store shelves across the Bay and state.
"Avocados are one of the biggest items that we sell here," said Jesus Beltran, a produce manager at the Zanotto's grocery store in the Willow Glen section of San Jose. "Probably 80% of the production we get out through the store."
In September 2024, a long-standing agreement between the U.S. and Mexico which allowed American inspectors to check products on the other side of the border, was shelved after violence by alleged cartel members that targeted the inspectors, led then-President Joe Biden to pull back from the agreement.
The president of the California Avocado Commission said that decision has led to a problem.
"From January of last year until October, there were zero pest detection…then we've had over 150 pest detections since then of the very pests we're concerned about," said Ken Melban.
That pest is the seed weevil, which is native to Mexico and considered one of the most damaging bugs in avocado cultivation.
"It'll get inside the fruit. It'll live in there, and then it'll decide to come out," said Melban. "Or, worst-case scenario, if that piece of fruit makes it to point-of-sale and a consumer buys it, now you have a consumer opening a piece of fruit that has a weevil in it."
The concern is that a possible infestation on one side of the border could spell catastrophe on the other, crippling the avocado supply and souring growers' profits.
"If the (seed) weevils (are) coming through, what other kinds of invasive pests are coming through that could be detrimental to Santa Clara County's agriculture?" – Drew Raymond, Interim County Agriculture Commissioner
The state's Avocado Commission is appealing to the Trump administration to re-institute American inspectors in Mexico to thwart the perceived threat.
"If the weevils (are) coming through, what other kinds of invasive pests are coming through that could be detrimental to Santa Clara County's agriculture," said Drew Raymond, the interim commissioner of the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture.
He said the county deploys dog teams to screen imports for threats. But there's always a risk one bug could sneak through, leading to a problem in the South Bay and beyond.
"Obviously, if we can nip it in the bud, if we can find those pests where they're coming from at the very beginning, that would be better than trying to exclude them at our border at our county line."
There's no word as yet on whether the Trump administration will put inspectors back in Mexico.
Much of it depends on security and if the inspectors can be kept safe.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
