Avocado packing line robots in Mexico

One robot empties your field crates onto the belt and another places the avocados in the box, by size. Your grader and your sorting stay yours.

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3D model of a packing line. On the left, a robot arm takes a layer of plastic crates from the pallet, turns it over onto a blue belt, and the empties slide down a chute. Fruit runs through the line the packing house already has. On the right, a second arm lifts a tray of fruit and lowers it into the box. Illustrative demonstration.
Illustrative demonstration. Your cell comes from your layout.

Why we start with avocado

Three things come together here: the fruit arrives in plastic crates on pallets, it runs almost year-round, and much of it still gets placed by hand.

It has no dead month. The lowest export month of 2025 brought in about two-thirds of the highest (USDA, March 2026). A machine that runs more days pays back sooner.
It is the fruit that suffers most from impact. INIFAP, Mexico's national agricultural research institute, measured in four export packing houses that the hardest impacts happen at dumping. The damage shows only at eating ripeness.
The pack pattern goes by size and by box. Each customer asks for its own format, and that change is where a programmable robot beats a fixed machine. See the pack pattern by size.

The two cells in an avocado packing house

Infeed: fruit crate tipper

It takes the full layer of plastic crates off the pallet and empties it onto your belt. The empties leave the cell so they can go back to washing or to the orchard.

The rate gets measured with your crate and your fruit. Your line sets the pace: it adjusts to what your grader can take.

Outfeed: robotic case packer

It takes each avocado and places it in a cardboard or plastic box, in the pack pattern for its size.

It goes at the outlet that ties up the most people. Compare it against your table today before you decide.

When is the best time to install?

In the lightest months of your packing house. In avocado, the 2025 SIAP chart shows June and July as the two low months in a row (USDA, March 2026), although fruit keeps coming in. The decision gets made months earlier, and we work out the calendar with your season.

Labor certificate and workweek: what is already on the calendar

Since October 1, 2026, Mexico's labor certificate (Certificado Laboral para la Agroexportación) has been mandatory to export avocado, and starting in 2027 the legal workweek drops to 46 hours until it reaches 40 in 2030.

Neither one forces you to buy a machine. Both make staying as you are more expensive. Before you plan, talk to your labor advisor about what this means for your packing house.

Labor certificate for avocado exports: ask how it affects your project

40-hour workweek in packing houses: run your days and shifts

Questions from avocado packers

What avocado packing line equipment does Agro Robotics make?

Two cells that go at the ends of your avocado line: the fruit crate tipper, which empties field crates onto the belt, and the robotic case packer, which places fruit by size in the outgoing box. The grader and the sorting stay yours.

Does Agro make the grader or the complete avocado line?

No. If you need a grader or a complete line, there are specialized manufacturers. Agro takes on the two jobs those lines usually leave to hand: taking crates off the pallet and placing fruit in the box.

What is the lifting limit for dumping avocado crates by hand?

NOM-036-1-STPS-2018, Mexico's manual handling standard from the labor ministry (STPS), sets 25 kg per lift for men aged 18 to 45 and 20 kg for women aged 18 to 45, and 10,000 kg of accumulated mass per workday if it moves less than 10 meters. An avocado field crate usually sits right at that limit.

When should we decide?

Months ahead of your lightest months, which is when a cell goes in without getting in the way of the season. In avocado, June and July were the two low months in a row in 2025, according to the SIAP chart (USDA, March 2026). We review it with you because each region runs differently.

Does it work for export avocado?

Yes, that is where we start. The robot does not change what the standard or the inspection requires: it places the format your customer asks for and leaves the lot where your line already takes it. Your quality team reviews materials and drop height before you decide.

Keep reading

How many crates do you receive at peak?

With your crates per day, shifts and format, we will tell you where it makes sense to start in your avocado packing house.

Request a quote Or send us a video of your line