The US is turning away Mexican avocados at the border

A row over potato imports caused them to be halted at the border

An avocado market in Michoacan state in Mexico (AFP/Getty Images)

Mexican avocados have been held up at the American border after the US Department of Agriculture temporarily blocked their import after a row over potatoes.

Five trucks carrying 100 tonnes of the fruit from the Mexican state of Jalisco were halted at the border last week after the US reneged on an export agreement signed last year.

Mexico’s Agriculture minister José Calzada announced the two countries had agreed to begin importing avocados from Jalisco in July.

The US had previously only accepted them from the neighbouring state of Michoacán because of concerns about the prevalence of an invasive species of Mediterranean fly which infests the Jalisco crop.

But the trucks containing the fruit were turned away at the border despite complying with hygiene regulations because of a temporary halt on US potato imports, according to to the Univision TV station.

Mexico first allowed the import of US potatoes in 2014 but following a legal injunction submitted by domestic producers stopped trade for a few hours during which time the export agreement was suspended.

Currently Jalisco is heavily dependent on its avocado trade. It produces 120,000 tonnes of the fruit every year – 50 per cent of which are exported to places like Canada, Japan, Europe and other parts of South America, according to the Association of Jalisco Producers and Exporters (APEAJAL).

The row comes as Donald trump threatens to crack down on Mexican imports (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Meanwhile the US is one of the largest avocado markets in the world but demand is mostly met by domestic farms in California and Florida.

It is unclear whether the decision to halt imports is connected to the inauguration of Donald Trump though it comes as he announced plans to follow through on his campaign promise to build a wall on the border and make Mexico pay.

On his first full business day in office Mr Trump signed an executive order signalling his intention to renegotiate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

On the campaign trail Mr Trump was critical of the deal, which came into force in 1994, saying it was responsible for the loss of US manufacturing jobs.

He pledged to scrap the deal and “punish” US firms which relied on Mexican workers.

The former reality star also indicated he would force Mexico to reimburse the US for the cost of building the border wall through a punitive 20 per cent tax on all Mexican imports but experts warned this would increase the price of goods for US consumers.

The Independent has contacted the US Department of Agriculture for comment but none had been given at the time of publication.