Browse Data and Analysis

Record-high remittances continue to boost consumer spending in 2024. U.S. agricultural exports to Nicaragua through September 2024 are up four percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Bolivia announced on October 19 the approval of Intacta, a new biotech soybean variety with insect resistant Bt and glyphosate resistant traits. Intense drought and more unpredictable weather are disrupting Bolivian farmer livelihoods and they see the Intacta approval as one helpful step towards improved crop productivity and environmental resilience.

In June 2024, the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA) issued an executive resolution to strengthen the risk mitigation measures for the monitoring and testing of GE grains.

Consumer trends in Nicaragua are shifting towards modern retail channels as remittance flows increase. Supermarkets are expanding rapidly, with one grocery store chain opening eight new locations in 2024.

This report provides information on export certification requirements for U.S. food and agricultural exports to Nicaragua. There were no significant changes to required export certificates since the 2023 report.

This report describes Nicaraguan regulatory requirements and import procedures for food and agricultural products. As of June 2024, there had been no major changes to the regulatory regime since the 2023 report.

The Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Protection and Health enforces a unique interpretation of a regional technical food safety regulation for imported meat that occasionally results in rejections of U.S. pork and chicken meat shipments. This...

Zambia’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to drop by more than 50 percent in marketing year 2024/25, due to extended dry spells associated with the El Niño event. Almost a million hectares of corn have been destroyed by the drought that forced the Zambian President to declare a “National Disaster and Emergency”.

FAS/Managua anticipates coffee production in marketing year 2024/25 to rebound to 2.6 million 60-kilogram bags, as a return to average precipitation levels should support historical average yields.

Nicaragua reported an outbreak of New World screwworm to the World Organization for Animal Health following confirmation of a sample collected on March 12, 2024. Nicaragua is the largest cattle producer in Central America and last detected screwworm in 1996.

FAS/Managua anticipates a drop in sugarcane production in marketing year 2024/25, as increased precipitation, which could be exacerbated by a La Niña weather cycle in the second half of 2024, brings agricultural and industrial yields closer to historical levels.

FAS/Managua projects marketing year 2024/25 peanut production to rebound to a record high of 230,000 metric tons on sustained high area planted and improved growing conditions following a damaging El Niño cycle in 2023/24.