Browse Data and Analysis

In March 2024, the Council of the European Union and European Parliament concluded negotiations on the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Regulation. The current text is going through a legal review but is now de-facto final and is expected to be formally adopted in the coming months. TEST EDIT

On April 22, 2024, Canada announced the implementation of a Federal Plastic Registry to monitor the types and volumes of plastic products, including plastic packaging used in agriculture and food manufacturing, through their life cycle on the Canadian market.

Rice export prices increased one percent as exporters are securing rice supplies to fulfill contracted shipment despite the weakening of the Thai baht.

Governments’ support for inputs and rice production have lifted area harvested and yields, boosting production across much of the region. Marketing year (MY) 2024/25 area harvested for rice in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali is projected up 1.7 percent year-over-year.

On April 17, 2024, the Government of Mexico published a law in the Official Gazette to establish mandatory warning labeling for products containing genetically engineered ingredients and to enshrine socioeconomic considerations into national food policy.

Over the last two years Burma’s foreign exchange restrictions, and the repeated changes to them, have adversely affected the country’s imports and exports.

On March 12, the United Kingdom (UK) government announced a public consultation on ‘Fairer Food Labeling.’ The consultation seeks feedback for two proposals on food labeling regulations: (1) on labeling pertaining to country of origin, and (2), on animal welfare labeling relating to methods of production.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to further streamline administrative procedures and policies on the importation of agricultural products and remove non-tariff barriers to help ensure food security.

The 2024 crop season in Morocco is progressing under difficult conditions. Dry and hot weather during January and February has driven production to record lows, especially in the southern parts of Morocco. Post forecasts MY2024/25 production at 1.55 MMT for common wheat, 0.75 MMT for durum wheat, and 0.65 MMT for barley.

In marketing year (MY) 2024/25, Canada’s total production of principal grains (wheat, durum, oats, barley, corn) is forecast to increase by 4.9 percent to 61.4 million metric tons (MMT) over the previous year on an additional 1.7 MMT of wheat production. In MY 2023/24, FAS/Ottawa is forecasting a 55 percent increase in corn imports over the previous year, on strong demand for animal feed due to the impacts of drought in the Prairie Provinces.

FAS/Cairo (Post) forecasts Egypt’s wheat imports in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 to increase by 2 percent from the previous marketing year, due to population growth and the availability of more foreign currency in Egyptian banks.

Kenya’s sugar production is expected to increase 40 percent in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 to 750,000 metric tons (MT) due to an increase in area harvested after the expiration of a ban on sugarcane harvesting issued by Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).