Mexico’s avocado industry prepares for its own Super Bowl

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, celebrations this time of year focus on the bowl of guacamole instead of the Super Bowl.

Indeed, each year, the largest sporting event in the United States is the main source of income for hundreds of families south of the border, who ensure that 138,000 tons of avocados are ripe in time for the event. kickoff of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Millions of fans plan to enjoy the Feb. 11 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with a side of guacamole. Much like Sunday's opponents, the lawyer traveled his own difficult path to get to the party.

“The Super Bowl serves as an advocate party because that's when we all celebrate it,” said Héctor Avilés, general manager of Abokados, Mexico's largest avocado packing plant. “In Michoacán, [the avocado is] celebrated on this day because there was a lot of work in the weeks leading up to it, and in the United States because it is on their table. I imagine cheese was once the staple of families watching the Super Bowl, but we now know it was Michoacán avocados. »

About 80% of avocados shipped from Mexico to the United States come from Michoacán. Avocado's Super Bowl season kickoff in the state — located in west-central Mexico, about 1,000 miles from Las Vegas — took place six weeks before the actual game. Entire populations devoted their days to several facets of production: planting, picking, packing and everything else before the fruit embarked on its journey to the United States.

“There are entire families that pick, or others where every member works at the packing plant,” Avilés said. “Some communities benefit for an extended period during these difficult times, thanks to [even more difficult] in recent years due to the excessive influence of organized crime. I don't know what Michoacán would become without agribusiness. A lot of people would be on the wrong side of things. It gives them work and keeps them on the right side. »

A winding path to the north

During Super Bowl season, a truck leaves Michoacán every seven minutes, each carrying 132,000 avocados en route to the United States. Such a shipment of avocados is worth about $80,000 to $100,000 and passes through parts of the country where the travel safety index is dropping. considerably. Michoacán and Guanajuato, just to the north, have been cited by Mexican authorities as two of the country's five least safe states in 2023.

Once the shipment arrives in the United States, Avilés explained, the shipping container is sealed to prevent tampering and the truck is certified by U.S. and Mexican inspectors. The cargo eventually reached the northern town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, just across the road from the Texas town of McAllen and one of the main commercial crossing points along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“It’s checked again once it arrives,” Avilés said. “There is an inspector at each border crossing, so you can cross anywhere.”

Most products are shipped to checkpoints in Texas, Arizona and California. If shipped to the Reynosa checkpoint, the cargo passes through Michoacán, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas before reaching the border, a journey that takes approximately 12 to 14 hours per day.

Along the way, there is always the threat of the cargo falling into the hands of criminal organizations. On average, distributors lose eight to 10 shipments per year, or up to $1 million worth of avocados. The cargo becomes useless and loses all value if the container is unsealed before reaching the United States.

Because of this danger, the cargo is escorted during certain seasons when the price of avocados is high.

“You can take all the necessary precautions as long as you respect Mexican and foreign protocols, which prohibit opening the truck before it reaches its destination,” Avilés said. “They seal it and you can’t open it.”

Avilés recalled some lost shipments in 2023, but added that the company lost eight the previous year.

“A criminal cell takes the cargo but leaves the truck. The entire cargo is loaded into another truck within five minutes,” he said. “They are incredibly talented.”

From ban to boom

Due to larvae issues, Mexican avocados were barred from entering the United States as recently as 25 years ago. Today, avocado is one of Mexico's top three exports to its northern neighbor, with a typical year-over-year sales increase of up to 25% between September and March. The boom would not be possible without detailed protocols and security escorts that protect production at every stage.

A strict process is required to trace the origin of each batch shipped north.

“It doesn't matter where the packaging plants are located. There is a procedure, which our American counterpart also follows, which follows the process at all times,” Avilés said. “We don't work alone. They have to send us a dedicated inspector, 24 hours a day, to make sure everything meets American standards. Mexico also, they send another inspector.”

An avocado tree takes five to ten years to mature and bear fruit. The orchard where it is grown is always monitored, from the time it is just a handful of land to the time the avocados it produces arrive at their point of sale in the United States.

In Michoacán, the process is a total team effort. Picking begins at 7 a.m. and ends at sunset. From there, the harvest heads to the packing plant, where each avocado must be handled by one person. Next comes loading, where it takes at least 200 workers to fill a truck for transport across the Rio Grande.

“We need pickers on the ground, it’s a team of nine people,” Avilés said. “The boxes are taken out to the orchard and from there they go to packaging. This is where a lot of hands have to be on deck. It's an artisanal process essential to quality control.”

Once the avocados are loaded, the freight truck transports the cargo in refrigerated containers to the United States.

“We are very inclusive in the packaging process. We give work to people from modest backgrounds whose skills are very valuable. They don't even know what a Super Bowl is,” Avilés said. “What they know is that it’s a busy work season and that’s when they receive the most income.”

Football and lawyers: a joint celebration

The avocado rush reaches its peak in February, with the fruit's green gold being extracted by American consumers just as the NFL season draws to a close. Orchards continue to operate and growers continue to make sure the fruit is ready for the Super Bowl. The perishable nature of the avocado prevents more of it from being sold during this time, Avilés explained, preventing sellers from purchasing it months in advance.

An avocado exported to the United States weighs between 4 and 8 ounces. California, a major producer of this fruit, is nevertheless the main consumer of Michoacán avocados. However, Avilés said Texas is the main buyer and receives the most product from Mexico. It is Michoacán's closest point of entry to the United States, and many companies there provide national distribution to various points in the country.

Sunday's kickoff at Allegiant will mark the end of Mexico's busy avocado season. There is no doubt that a good portion of the millions of people who watch television in the United States will enjoy a delicious bowl of guacamole, without worrying about the process that went into delivering the snack to their table.

“Avocado holds a special place in our hearts,” Avilés said. “We know that it is a delicious fruit. It is one of the main foreign exchange earners in this country. In Michoacán it is like a religion, a blessing. Hundreds of thousands of us work in this market. The avocado has become our way of life. “.