South Korea: New Market for Jaliscience Avocados

Producers and local authorities in Jalisco are pushing to open up the avocado market, insisting that South Korea could be their next target, according to Eduardo Ron Ramos, head of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader).

The secretary notes that significant progress has been made in the process of entering the South Korean market through the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety, and Quality, which sent officials from the country to participate in the phytosanitary risk analysis plan.

In his own words, “We’re making great progress on the South Korea front. We’ve already sent the documents to Senasica, and Senasica has already forwarded the risk assessment to South Korea. It will undoubtedly be a very interesting market, where avocados are widely enjoyed, and we’re confident that we’ll soon be giving the green light for the first container shipment from Jalisco producers,” said Ron Ramos.

Although there is currently no impact resulting from the threats of new tariffs on Mexican agricultural products, the secretary emphasizes that there is uncertainty on the part of the U.S. government regarding the tariffs it may seek to impose.

Although Mexico’s fruit and vegetable sector is of great importance to the United States, Ron Ramo points out that imposing tariffs on it would directly contribute to inflationary pressures in the United States, affecting American consumers; therefore, there are no indications that this could happen. Similarly, various ways to grow the avocado market are being explored to reduce conflicts that (albeit to a small extent) could arise in the future.