Mexico City, Mexico - The Trump administration on Friday announced it will partially resume inspections of avocado producers in Mexico's Michoacan state, two days after suspending imports over security concerns.

Michoacan is a hotspot for fighting between organized crime gangs, which have diversified into extorting agricultural interests.

As a result, it is standard protocol for US authorities to inspect avocado orchards and packing facilities in Mexico before shipments of the popular fruit can be transported for sale north of the border.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration's diplomatic mission to Mexico said it had suspended all avocado inspections in Michoacan since August 5 following a "threat against US interests" and ongoing security concerns.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's government responded dramatically to the suspension, deploying 1500 National Guard troops to protect avocado producing areas, packing centers, and agricultural inspection points.

On Saturday, however, the US embassy in Mexico said inspections will resume in some avocado-growing areas of Michoacan as of Saturday. It did not, however, specify if shipments would also restart.

The decision was made following "commitments by the Mexican government," security measures implemented in the state, and its "ongoing evaluations of conditions on the ground," it said in a statement.

In 2024, avocado shipments were temporarily suspended after two inspectors were assaulted and temporarily detained in the state.

Michoacan, about the size of Costa Rica, produces some two million tons of avocados annually, and is also a major exporter of limes.

The biggest avocado shipping season is before the Super Bowl in February, and this year producers from Michoacan and its neighbor Jalisco shipped a record 127,000 tons.

Relations between Mexico and the US have been strained under Trump, who has said Sheinbaum's government is run by cartels and repeatedly threatened to send in the military to fight organized crime.