Oct 5, 2017

Mexican fruit growers claim U.S. smuggling in apples

A news organization in Mexico is reporting the Union of Fruit Growers for the State of Chihuahua says 200 tons of U.S. Golden Delicious apples were smuggled into Mexico through the Tijuana border in Baja, California.

According to reports from The Chihuahua Herald, The Union of Fruit Growers of the State of Chihuahua denounced before the National Service of Health, Safety and Quality – Senasica – and to the Department of Customs of the Service of Tax Administration, the smuggling of 200 tons of American apple, variety Golden Delicious, which were detected in the Supply Center of Guadalajara.

The Chihuahua Herald reports,

“According to the president of the Unifrut, Elier Homero García Domínguez, the American fruit entered the national territory through the border customs of Tijuana earlier this month and that it is totally illegal, because the harvest corresponds to the current one and the law establishes that all import fruit must undergo rigorous phytosanitary measures, such as storage in quarantine forcibly cooling.

We are asking both Senasica and Customs to do an investigation and get out of doubt and above all that you can not allow that apple to go inside because it puts national production at risk,” he said, assuring that there was an act of corruption in customs.

 The 200 tons of golden apple that illegally entered Baja California in 10 full trailers, was already in sale (shelves) of the Mercado de Abastos de Guadalajara, which is presumed to be the present harvest.

 In that sense it considered that it is not logical that it was in the market since there is an agreement in relation to international trade where the apple must remain at least 40 days in refrigeration, in addition that the cut of the gala apple began the 15 of September or few days before.”

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