Browse Data and Analysis

India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) continues to forecast a normal 2023 southwest monsoon, according to a second forecast report issued on May 26, predicting that June through September rainfall will likely reach 96 percent of the long period average (LPA)/fifty-year average of 870 millimeter (mm).

FAS Mumbai estimates marketing year (MY) 2023/24 India cotton production at 26 million 480 lb. bales on 12.7 million hectares planted, a decrease from the previous year on the expectation that farmers will shift cotton acreage to higher return crops such as oilseeds and pulses.

On June 14, 2023, India’s Ministry of Finance issued Public Notice No. 39/2023 - Customs that reduces the import duty on refined sunflower and soybean oils.

India’s food retail sector will continue its upward trajectory following a decade of market evolution and sustained growth. The increased purchasing power of Indian households, growing awareness and access to gourmet products, and consumer awareness toward international cuisines and food products have acted as primary growth catalysts in the sector.

The wheat planting area for MY2023/24 is estimated at 725,000 HA, some 17 percent higher than previous marketing year. Overall production is estimated to be 3.6 MMT, which represents a 12.5 increase compared to MY2022/23.

On June 8, 2023, the Government of India’s (GOI) Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) invited World Trade Organization (WTO) members to provide comments on draft amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Regulations 2023.

India’s average ethanol blending rate with petroleum for calendar year 2023 is estimated at 11.5 percent. The National Biofuels Policy of India, amended in May 2022, strengthens efforts to increase domestic ethanol output from sugarcane and multi-feed stocks by expediting pace toward blending goals.

On June 7, 2022, the Indian government announced the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all kharif (summer sown, autumn harvested) crops for Indian crop year (ICY) 2023/2024.

On May 22, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified on its website Direction REG-11027/3/2022-Regulation-FSSAI. The FSSAI direction informs that the draft Food Safety and Standards (Food for Infant Nutrition) Regulations (2022) are being re-operationalized.

On April 27, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified on its website the Direction SS-T007/1/2023-Standard-FSSAI.

On May 8, 2023, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) published Notification No. 5/2023, Amendment in Import Policy Conditions of Apples under the Indian Trade Classification (ITC) Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HS) Code 0808.1000 of Chapter-08 of the ITC (HS), 2022, Schedule-I (Import Policy).

The 2023 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2023 calendar year.