Trump can protect California avocado farmers and take a bite out of Mexican cartels, too

President Donald Trump has made Make America Healthy Again a national priority, with avocados at the center of his administration's new food pyramid. But America cannot promote real, healthy food while allowing the American farmers who grow it to disappear.

That is exactly what is happening to California's roughly 3,000 avocado growers, who are being undercut by a surge of Mexican imports from regions where cartel activity extorts growers, seizes land and controls communities. Trump has committed to making America healthy again, putting American interests first and stopping cartel criminal activity at our border. Prioritizing California's avocado farmers does all three.

Californias avocado growers, many of them small, multigenerational family farms, meet some of the worlds most rigorous labor, environmental and production standards. Yet during their March-through-October harvest season, they face surges of imported fruit from Mexico that disrupt the U.S. market, destroy the market price and threaten their future.

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We know there is a meaningful difference in quality as well. California Hass avocados are left on the tree until they reach peak maturity, allowing them to develop a richer oil content that creates a creamier texture, a deeper buttery flavor and a more vibrant fruit profile.

They are prized for their consistency, making them the preferred choice for everything from guacamole to sandwiches and salads. California avocados are not simply another commodity, they are among the finest avocados grown anywhere in the world. When American consumers choose California-grown fruit, they are choosing superior quality while supporting American farmers and American agriculture.

This year, avocado shipments from Mexico from January through mid-July surged 32% compared to the same period in 2025, flooding the U.S. market and harming our California growers. While we continue working to reduce the regulatory burdens facing California farmers, imported avocados dumped into the market at artificially low prices undermine fair competition and threaten the long-term viability of domestic production.

America cannot allow a foreign source to dominate a critical food category while U.S.-grown crops progressively disappear. Total dependency on foreign production in agriculture damages farming communities, compromises food security and ultimately harms consumers.

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The surge in Mexican avocados implicate another major policy concern. Since day one of his second term, Trump has aggressively committed himself to stopping cartel criminal activity that crosses our border. Mexican avocado production belongs in that conversation.

The Treasury Department has documented that cartels operating in Mexicos avocado-producing regions extort growers, demand payments tied to harvesting and exporting, seize land and use violence to control communities.

On Aug. 5, 2026, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued an alert suspending all U.S. government activities due to a threat against American interests in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which produces the vast ma