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Caribbean Basin > Aruba + Barbados + Cayman Islands + Curacao + Dominca + Grenada + Guyana + Saint Kitts and Nevis + Saint Vincent and the Grenadines + Saint Lucia + Trinidad and Tobago

Vietnam’s cotton imports for marketing year 2024/25 (MY 2024/25) are estimated at 6.8 million bales, up 4 percent over MY 2023/24 based on an expected recovery in global demand for textiles and garments by late 2024.

The Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional (HRI) sector is seeing signs of recovery in New Zealand (NZ). However, aches and pains still exist. Meanwhile, NZ continues to recover from a cost-of-living crisis, which sadly caused restaurants to close their doors.

The Government of Vietnam (GVN) issued Decree 144/2024/ND-CP on November 1, 2024, lowering Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) tariff rates on soybean meal to one percent from two percent. The Decree will enter into force on December 16, 2024.

The New Zealand Government is in the final stages of amending its Climate Change Response Act 2002 to remove agriculture activities from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

In New Zealand, genetically engineered (GE) products are regulated under the 1996 Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) and administered by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). On October 14, 2023, New Zealand held a general election, which resulted in a change in Government.

New Zealand’s apple-planted area in the 2024/2025 market year (MY) is forecast to increase substantially to 11,100 hectares (ha) from the significant damage to farms due to Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

New Zealand fluid milk production is forecasted to be 21.3 million metric tons (MMT) in the 2025 market year (MY).

This report provides an unofficial translation of Vietnam's Government Decree 120/2024, issued on September 30, 2024.

Growth in the agricultural sector slowed in the first nine months of 2024 due to extreme weather, particularly Typhoon Yagi, which severely affected crop cultivation and livestock farming.

Vietnam’s food retail market consisted of over 665,000 outlets generating sale revenue of $55 billion in 2023, up four percent compared to 2022. Although the global economic downturn has slowed growth, key retailers remain optimistic about the potential of Vietnam's retail market.

New Zealand has signed a free-trade deal with the United Arab Emirates - the fastest agreement the country has ever reached. After negotiations began in May, the country's trade negotiators concluded the deal in four months.