Browse Data and Analysis

The cotton production forecast for 2024/25 has been revised downward to 5.2 million bales, with the area unchanged at 2 million hectares.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.

In 2024, the Pakistan government issued revised Biosafety Rules and Regulations, creating a system to request genetically engineered (GE) commodity imports for food, feed, and processing (FFP). As of mid-October 2024, importers had submitted several applications to import GE soybeans for FFP.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2024/25 are forecast to reach 4.25 MMT, an increase of 2 percent over marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

With the outlook for the sugar industry largely unchanged from the previous report, no significant changes are made to the supply and demand tables.

No significant changes were made to the 2024/25 wheat supply and demand forecasts. Wheat imports and exports remain banned. The 2024/25 rice production forecast is unchanged at a record 10 million tons.

The 2024/25 cotton area estimate is revised downward to 2 million hectares due to a decrease in cultivation in key production areas of Punjab and Sindh. With the lower area, the production forecast is lowered to 5.55 million bales.

The major export certificates required by Saudi Arabia’s regulatory and import control agencies are included in this Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) - Certificates Report. These certificates are required for the importation of food and agricultural products into the Kingdom. Information in this report supplements the FAIRS Annual Country Report.

Saudi Arabia has published numerous regulations and standards over the years. While many of these regulations (both mandatory and voluntary) were notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), most were immediately implemented making it difficult for U.S. exporters to adjust or comment.

Pakistan is the 28th largest export market for U.S. food and agricultural-related products, with U.S. exports surpassing $930 million in 2023. The top U.S. exports to Pakistan were cotton, planting seeds, tree nuts, dairy products, pulses, and forestry products.

Reflecting recently released government of Pakistan official data, the 2024/25 wheat production estimate is increased to a record 31.4 million tons.

Saudi Arabia is a major market ($1.55 billion) for U.S. food and agricultural products, and there are plenty of opportunities to export a wide range of new-to-market U.S. food products.