Mexico’s avocado growers’ organization, known commonly by the acronym APEAM, announced today that workers were back in the groves picking avocados for U.S. consumption after a 16-day hiatus.

Newly harvested fruit is expected to reach the U.S.-Mexican border as early as tomorrow, Nov. 15, though it will take at least two weeks for the pipeline to be filled again, according to U.S. importers.

The announcement by APEAM of an accord came in the form of a press release, which revealed a six-point agreement but did not include any price guarantees, which was reported initially as the cause of the “strike” by growers.

The announcement indicated that communication issues were at the root of the problem. It said, in part, “We have reached agreements that force us to redouble our communication and understanding efforts.” One of the points of the agreement called for increased weekly communication between APEAM and growers with regard to market price, the volume shipped each week and where the fruit is being sent.

The first point of the agreement addressed a grower concern that fruit from outside of Michoacán -- the only Mexican state that can legally send avocados to the United States -- was being sent to packingsheds in that state, and then shipped to the United States as part of Michoacán’s production. One U.S. exporter who is intimately involved in sourcing Mexican avocados said the process to certify fruit is a complex one, but he has never been aware of such a problem.

Another point in the agreement addressed price but only from a general viewpoint. The agreement states that the price will be adjusted in concert with supply and demand, and producers will have the freedom to sell their fruit to whomever they wish. This appears to be another issue of concern to growers but not one that U.S. importers have noted as a major problem in the past.

The press release acknowledged that there has been disruption to the supply chain because of the harvesting stoppage and APEAM apologized for the inconveniences that have occurred.

The English translation of the statement recorded that concern thusly: “In spite of the damage and the wear and tear of the links of the chain and of the society in general and of disappointed and dissatisfied consumers, we apologize for all this and we will do what is necessary so that this does not happen again, all within the framework of legality and sustainability as we are a world class industry.”