MEXICO

Capital: Mexico City
Population:  107,450,000
Currency: Peso
Official Language(s): Spanish

I. CHEMICAL MAXIMUM RESIDUE LEVELS (MRLs)

Please click on the above link for a list of chemical MRLs.

II. CHEMICALS AND ADDITIVE INFORMATION

    A. Chemical residue standards:

      Mexico defers to maximum residue levels established by the U.S. and Codex Alimentarius Commission.

    B. Monitoring chemical residues:

      Mexico does not actively monitor chemical residue levels. Recently, however, there has been some attention paid to this issue.

    C. Restrictions on use of waxes:

      None.

III. ORGANIC FRUIT REGULATIONS

On February 8, 2006 Mexico announced passage of the Organic Products Law.  The Ministry of Agriculture will now begin the process of determining how it will regulate "organic" food products.

IV. TARIFFS

Effective January 1, 2003, the import tariff on U.S. and Canadian apples was eliminated as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

No import duty is assessed on peaches, pears, apricots, plums or cherries from the U.S.   The duties on pear imports from Argentina and apple imports from Chile are also zero.

Apples imported from other countries are subject to a 20% duty.

Mexico also has a 15% value added tax (VAT, or IVA in Spanish).   The VAT is assessed on the FOB invoice value plus the ad valorem duty.

Anti-dumping duty:

    For information on the status of the anti-dumping case contact the Northwest Fruit Exporters (Yakima, Washington) at 509/576-8004 or email jarcher@goodfruit.com.

V. NON-TARIFF BARRIERS

    A. Labeling requirements:

      All consumer packages of fruit, such as bagged apples, must be labeled in Spanish with the following information:

      1. Name of the product;
      2. Net weight;
      3. Importer's name, corporate identification and fiscal domicile;
      4. Country of origin; and
      5. Batch (lot) number.
      6.  Exporter's name and address

      The information concerning the importer's name, corporate identification and fiscal domicile may be placed on the package after it has cleared customs and prior to marketing. The legend, "Not labeled for individual sale" also must appear in Spanish on the package. The information in Spanish must be in lettering of the same size, typographic proportions and must appear in an equally obvious manner as information in other languages. An English copy of Mexico's official labeling standards is available from the Northwest Horticultural Council.

    B. Licenses and quotas:

      None. 

    C. Currency Issues:

      None. 

    D. Pest and plant disease restrictions:

    USDA/APHIS has developed a new Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) Form PPQ 577 in an effort to combat false or counterfeit PCs presented at the Mexican border.

    As of November 20, 2000, Mexico will accept only the new certificate that has a print date of July 2000.

    All PCs issued on shipments to Mexico must be on the July 2000 form.  This policy applies to all commodities, including apples, pears and cherries.

    For further information, please contact the Northwest Fruit Exporters at 509/576-8004.

    Pests of quarantine concern: 

    The list below comes from USDA APHIS EXCERPT and indicates the Mexican pest list of quarantine importance. The species marked with an asterisk are found in the fruit production areas of the Pacific Northwest. We believe that we are at low risk of delivering fruit infested with any of these pests. However, if any codling moth is found in the border inspection it could be misidentified as oriental fruit moth. Shipments found to contain pests of quarantine concern will not be allowed to enter Mexico.

    Amyelois transitella (naval orangeworm)
    Archips argyrospilus (Western fruit-tree leaf roller)* Argyrotaenia citrana (orange tortrix)
    Choristaneura rosaceana (oblique banded leaf roller)*
    Cydia molesta (Oriental fruit moth)*
    Platynota stultana (omnivorous leaf roller) Spectrobates ceratoniae (carob moth)
    Trogoderma granarium (khapra beetle)

      Apples: Apple shipments to Mexico must comply with the "Work Plan for the Exportation of Apples from the United States to Mexico." Participating packing facilities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho must be registered with their respective state departments of agriculture. Apples must be held in cold storage at 0° Celsius for 40 days or at 3.3° Celsius for 90 days prior to shipment. Cold chambers must be certified by the respective state departments of agriculture and approved by the Mexican Export Inspection Office. Cartons must be packed, inspected and shipped in accordance with the work plan.

      Those firms interested in exporting apples to Mexico should obtain a copy of the work plan and relevant regulations from their respective industry association, e.g. Northwest Fruit Exporters, or state department of agriculture. The telephone number of the Northwest Fruit Exporters is (509) 576-8004.

      Pears:  A federal phytosanitary certificate is required. Both the state and county of production must be shown on the certificate. The following additional declaration also is required, "The pears in this shipment are free of Cydia molesta (oriental fruit moth) and Conotrachelus nenuphar (plum curculio) and were produced in the states of Oregon, Washington or California. This shipment was not produced in areas regulated (quarantined) for fruit flies of quarantine importance."

      The shipment must be substantially free of leaves and debris. A two leaf per carton tolerance is allowed. The cartons must be marked with a lot number and the address of the grower/packer.

      During the certification inspection, the standard of a minimum inspection level of 2 percent, as per APHIS policy, must be maintained.  Additionally, of that 2 percent, cutting of a minimum of 2 fruits per box plus any suspect fruit is required.

      NOTE:  Extra effort should be applied for the detection of larvae.

      Apricots:  A systems approach work plan was implemented in the spring of 2002 for the export of Pacific Northwest apricots to Mexico.  Please contact your state cooperators or the Northwest Horticultural Council for additional information.

E.  Other requirements:

      Solid Wood Packing Material (SWPM):  

      Please refer to the SWPM section of the NHC's Technical Bulletins and Industry Advice.

      Required information: 
      Mexico requires that the following information be included on the invoice or import documents for apple shipments:

      a)  The description of the product, as well as the tariff number.

      b)  Quality grade of the apple.

      c)  Apple Size.

      d)  Weight in kilograms of boxes.

      Example of above:

                Fresh apples, 0808.10.01
                Red Delicious - Red King Oregon, WA
                Exfancy, size 88, boxes of 19.60 kg.

      Ports of entry: 

      Apples should be allowed to enter Mexico through the ports of Neuvo Laredo, Mexicali, Tuxpan, Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, Nogales, Ciudad Reynosa and San Luis Rio Colorado.

      Customs Cash Account System:
      The Secretariat of Treasury in Mexico (SHCP) implemented a Customs Cash Account System on October 1, 2000.  Apple importers are required to deposit in a bank account 100% of duties assessed on the difference between the export value and the value of the shipment based on a predetermined reference price.  Deposits may be held for up to six months until the importer proves his price is legitimate.  The deposit, minus any taxes due, is then returned.

VI. SUBSIDIES

None.

VII.  MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST TREE FRUIT INDUSTRY

Washington Apple Commission:

Juan Carlos Moreira
Queretaro, Qro Mexico
Voice/Fax:  011-52-442-218-1097
E-mail:  jcmets123@gmail.com

Northwest Cherry Growers/Washington State Fruit Commission:

James Thompson
Cidade Jardim Uberaba, BRAZIL
Voice:   011 5534-336-3291
Fax:      011 5534-322-6507
E-mail:  thompson_caiapo@zaz.com.br

Pear Bureau Northwest:

Luis Moreno
Grupo PM S.A. de C.V.
Morelos, MEXICO
Voice:   011-52-777 3167370
Fax:      011-52-777 3167369
E-mail:  grupopm@grupopm.com

VIII.  OTHER RESOURCE LINKS:

Government

IX.  ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

All products exported to Mexico require a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) certificate.  For detailed information click on NAFTA Certificate of Origin.

Mexican customs requires that all exporters' invoices and country of origin certificates show the full street address including the city, state and zip code.  Do not list a P.O. Box number.  If a P.O. Box is used, Mexican Customs may confiscate the product.

Mexican Customs provides exporters a 15 day grace period to correct any minor clerical errors, omissions or missing documentation regarding required paper work, provided that the errors do not call into question the authenticity of the documents.

Additional information on exporting apples and pears to Mexico may be obtained from FAS Gain Reports.

Special thanks to
FAS Field Office - Mexico 

105 South 18th Street, Suite 105
Yakima, Washington 98901, USA
Voice: (509) 453-3193, Fax: (509) 457-7615

E-mail general@nwhort.org