El Aguaje, Michoacán - The United States has temporarily stopped imports of avocados from Mexico after a US agricultural inspector in Michoacán state received threats over the phone, the Mexican agriculture ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The import ban coincided with the Super Bowl, when a particularly large number of people in the US traditionally prepare guacamole.

Michoacán, the only Mexican state fully licensed by the US authorities to export avocados, has suffered from violence at the hands of cartels and gangs involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and distribution wars.

The Mexican government sent around 1,000 soldiers to Michoacán during the past week.

In the past six weeks, producers from the western Mexican state exported 135,000 tons of avocados to the United States, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Around 1.5 million tons of avocados are harvested in Mexico each year.