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A group of California Republicans is urging the Trump administration to curb “harmful surges” of Mexican avocado imports, warning that cartel influence over Mexico’s avocado trade is threatening U.S. growers.
In a letter Monday to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, seven Republican members of California’s congressional delegation called for “reasonable and enforceable” limits on sudden avocado import surges as part of negotiations over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The letter was signed by Reps. James Gallagher, Jay Obernolte, Ken Calvert, Young Kim, David Valadao, Darrell Issa and Vince Fong.
“As Republican members of California’s congressional delegation, we urge you to include a provision in your USMCA seasonal produce solution that will help curb harmful surges of Mexican avocados in the U.S. market, which are likely being driven by the Mexican cartels,” the lawmakers wrote.
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“These increasingly frequent surges are collapsing U.S. avocado prices and placing the future of American avocado production at risk,” the lawmakers added.
They alleged that Mexican criminal organizations wield “substantial influence” over the avocado supply chain by extorting growers, profiting from avocados grown on “illegally obtained land,” interfering with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections and controlling transportation routes.
The lawmakers also cited Mexico’s deployment of its military to avocado-producing regions as evidence of the “extent of cartel influence.”
“These criminal organizations do not operate under the same costs or constraints as lawful American growers. Extortion, illegal land use, compromised inspections, and cartel control over transportation allow large volumes of fruit to enter the United States under conditions that do not reflect legitimate production costs or ordinary market forces,” the letter states.
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According to the letter, import surges during critical periods of California’s 2025 and 2026 growing seasons drove down prices for U.S. producers.
The U.S. imported roughly 2.87 billion pounds of fresh avocados in 2025, with Mexico accounting for 83% of that volume, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“American avocado growers cannot compete in a market shaped by criminal organizations that profit regardless of the price paid to legitimate producers,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers said they are not seeking to block Mexican avocados, but instead want limits designed to prevent sudden import surges from “overwhelming the domestic market.”
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“These protections would preserve substantial access for Mexican avocados while giving American growers a fair opportunity to sell their fruit during their limited production season,” the letter stated.
FOX Business reached out to Greer and the Mexican Embassy for comment.
