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On April 26, 2022, the Philippine Department of Health’s Food and Drug Administration notified the World Trade Organization of a “Draft Administrative Order Revised Rules and Regulations on the Licensing of Food Establishments and Registration of Processed Food, and Other Food Products, and for Other Purposes Repealing Administrative Order 2014-0029.” Trading partners and other stakeholders have until June 25, 2022 to submit comments.

On Thursday May 12, the Government of Brazil (GOB) cut import tariffs for several categories of goods, focusing on food staples in an attempt to reduce consumer inflation. Import tariffs on beef, chicken, corn, wheat flour, wheat, cookies and bakery products were eliminated through the end of the year.

In 2021, the total value of U.S. agricultural and food exports to Hong Kong dropped 12 percent compared to 2020, continuing its decline from the 2017 peak and reaching its lowest level since 2008. The overall drop in exports was driven primarily by lower sales of consumer-ready products which offset recoveries in other product categories.

A recent industry survey in one of China’s leading provinces for textile and apparel manufacturing highlights the negative impact of the PRC’s zero-tolerance COVID policy in the world’s largest cotton market and area economy. According to survey results, production estimates are down, costs are higher, and deliveries are delayed.

Egypt reversed the widely criticized mandate by the Central Bank of Egypt for importers to utilize a process where letters of credit would substitute the long-established cash-against-documents process.

On April 26, 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries designated mackerel, Pacific saury, sardine, squid and cuttlefish as vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. From December 1, 2022, Japan will require catch certificates to import products containing these species as a main ingredient.

On April 11, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that the country is battling 56 outbreak cases of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) involving farms and communal areas in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng. According to the DALRRD Animal Health Directorate, the outbreaks currently troubling South Africa were caused by illegal movements of animals out of the FMD controlled zones in Limpopo.

Rice export prices increased around 1 percent from the previous week due to strong demand for white and parboiled Thai rice.

India notified its draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Second Amendment) Order (2022), to the Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is inviting comments.

On November 9, 2020, Colombia’s Ministry of Health, and Social Protection (MINHEALTH) issued Resolution 2013, a regulation that sets mandatory maximum sodium content limits for 59 processed food product categories. Resolution 2013 introduces a new conformity certificate requirement and reduction goals for sodium content in foods.

On April 26, the Japanese Cabinet approved a 6.2 trillion yen ($48 billion) emergency economic package to mitigate the effect of surging energy and food prices on households and small businesses.

Ranked No.1 in both the facility registration by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) and the feed product registration by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), the United States accounts for 20 percent of Chinese imported pet food market share and is poised to expand.