Browse Data and Analysis

After an exceptional year in sales in 2020, the Spanish retail sector is becoming increasingly competitive, while trying to find a balance between high input costs and improved efficiency, during a period of high inflation that once again gives price the leading role in purchasing decisions.

Dry and warm conditions across the EU, combined with a decline in corn plantings, are anticipated to reduce the bloc’s total grain production in MY 2022/23. Nevertheless, EU exports of grains are expected to remain stable and partially replace Black Sea Region origins in international grain markets. EU grain importing Member States will expand their purchases in alternative grain suppliers to make up for the limited access to Ukrainian grain and the shorter domestic availability.

Competition by other crops continues to force Spain’s fodder area down. In MY 2022/23 the dry spring is anticipated to have negatively affected yields in non-irrigated land. On the processor side, energy prices will keep forcing margins down.

U.S. beef exports into the EU’s High Quality Beef (HQB) quota seem to finally have emerged from the impact of COVID-19 restrictions in the last quarter of the 2021/2022 quota year. In the quota year 2022-2023, U.S. beef exporters can at last start benefitting from the 2019 agreement with the EU about reserving a U.S. specific part of the HQB quota, which was negotiated between the United States and the European Union in 2009.

On July 26, 2022 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) opened a consultation on proposed guidance for registration requirements of gut modifier products under the animal feeds regulations. The consultation will remain open until September 19, 2022.

Poland is Central and Eastern Europe’s largest market for food and beverage products. With a population of nearly 38 million people, Poland is a growing and viable market for U.S. food and agricultural products. Over 373,000 stores operate in Poland. In 2021 Poland’s real GDP growth reached 5.9 percent. Due primarily to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, real GDP growth is expected to slow down to 3.9 percent in 2022.

The wheat and barley harvest is continuing in Turkey, approximately two weeks behind the normal harvest schedule this year. Wheat production is forecast at 17.25 Million Metric Tons (MMT), and barley production is forecast at 7.4 MMT in Marketing Year (MY) 2022/23. The first corn crop planting finished with total corn production forecast at 6.2 MMT.

On June 10, 2022 a report by the Dutch government on objectives for reduction of nitrogen greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in rural areas was released. It was followed by weeks of farmers protests in the Netherlands. This report gives a chronological...

On July 20, 2022, Canada announced final regulations to amend the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) to establish detailed conditions for the use of supplemental ingredients in food. The amendments will also establish additional requirements on the labelling of supplemented foods beyond the general requirements in the FDR for prepackaged foods.

Significant rainfall has alleviated severe drought conditions in large regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan but more is required to support wheat growth. Large regions of Manitoba that were waterlogged in June, now have adequate conditions after a heat wave dried up excess water.

The UK retail sector is one of the most sophisticated in the world, with the UK retail grocery market valued at $282 billion in June 2022. Discounters remain the fastest growing channel, with online grocery shopping remaining stable after achieving unprecedented growth during the pandemic.

Wheat exports for marketing year (MY) 2022-2023 are forecast at 12.35 million tons, l.15 million tons lower than USDA’s official number as a result of lower production. The wheat and barley crops are suffering very dry weather. Barley exports in MY 2022-2023 are forecast at 3.7 million tons, the same as in MY 2021-2022.