On May 4th<\/sup>, 2026, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (“IMPI<\/span>“) published in the Federal Official Gazette (“DOF<\/span>“) the Declarations of Protection for two Protected Geographical Indications (“PGIs<\/span>“): “Aguacate Franja Michoac\u00e1n” and “Cacao de la Regi\u00f3n Chontalpa de Tabasco,” issued pursuant to Articles 265, 266, 267, and 288 of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (“LFPPI<\/span>“). Both declarations took effect on the following business day, May 5th<\/sup>, 2026.<\/p>\n The PGI “Aguacate Franja Michoac\u00e1n<\/em>” protects Hass avocados produced in 31 municipalities of the state of Michoac\u00e1n within the Michoac\u00e1n Avocado Belt. The PGI “Cacao de la Regi\u00f3n Chontalpa de Tabasco<\/em>” protects cacao of the species Theobroma cacao L. cultivated in six municipalities of the state of Tabasco: C\u00e1rdenas, Comalcalco, Cunduac\u00e1n, Huimanguillo, Para\u00edso, and Jalpa de M\u00e9ndez. In both cases, the designation constitutes a national asset; commercial use requires express authorization from IMPI.<\/p>\n Any individual or legal entity that currently uses, or intends to use, either designation on products, packaging, labels, marketing materials, or external communications must obtain IMPI authorization prior to doing so. Unauthorized use constitutes an infringement under the LFPPI. Authorized users will be required to:<\/p>\n Neither PGI currently has an accredited entity responsible for certifying compliance with the Rules of Use, as required by Article 275, Section V of the LFPPI. This means that while both declarations are already in force and unauthorized use already constitutes an infringement, the formal authorization process for legitimate users remains on hold until IMPI accredits the corresponding certifying body. Companies seeking authorization should monitor this process closely.<\/p>\n IMPI will initiate the international recognition process for both PGIs under Mexico’s applicable treaties and trade agreements. This is particularly relevant for operators with export activity to the European Union, the United States, and other markets with established geographical indication protection regimes, where recognition may generate both enforceable rights and use restrictions.<\/p>\n This development has direct implications for: producers, packing houses, and exporters of Hass avocados in Michoac\u00e1n; cacao producers, processors, and chocolate makers in the Chontalpa Region of Tabasco; international importers and distributors of these products; companies holding brand licenses or toll-manufacturing agreements involving these designations; and investors or funds with exposure to agri-food value chains in the protected areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Background On May 4th, 2026, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (“IMPI“) published in the Federal Official Gazette (“DOF“) the Declarations of Protection for two Protected Geographical Indications (“PGIs“): “Aguacate Franja Michoac\u00e1n” and “Cacao de la Regi\u00f3n Chontalpa de Tabasco,” issued pursuant to Articles 265, 266, 267, and 288 of the Federal Law for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-otros"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4147,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions\/4147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibarrapg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Scope of Each Declaration<\/h4>\n
Operational Implications<\/h4>\n
\n
Key Watch Item: Certification Body not yet in Place<\/h4>\n
International Recognition<\/h4>\n
Who is Affected?<\/h4>\n