MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday authorities are looking at a U.S. decision announced at the weekend to temporarily suspend avocado shipments on security grounds from the western state of Michoacan.
The U.S. embassy said the U.S. avocado inspection program in Michoacan had been suspended pending a review of the security situation. Though exports are not formally blocked, U.S. officials must inspect avocados being sent to the United States.
Speaking at a regular government news conference, Lopez Obrador said the matter may have been influenced by groups with something to gain from the suspension, without giving details.
"The truth is, there's always an economic, a commercial interest behind it," he said. "Or there's a political attitude."
He also pointed to a recent decision by U.S. trade officials to seek talks with Mexico over its environmental obligations under a North American trade agreement, including protection of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
He then stressed that Mexican relations with the U.S. government were "very good".