Avocado news

Dale McNiel, lawyer for Mexico's avocado exporting group APEAM, relays this news:

With some prodding by APEAM and Calavo, the Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADOA) has told them that the ADOA has accepted the APHIS risk assessment for armored scales and will discontinue inspecting imported Hass avocados for such surface pests.

In a letter to me dated March 11, 2008, Butler stated: "Department staff has had this issue under advisement since APHIS issued the risk assessment [on armored scales]. We concur with the risk assessment, and have discontinued these inspections for the surface pests in question." This should mean that the ADOA will no longer reject or require fumigation of commercial shipments of produce entering Arizona due to the detection of armored scales.