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After the 2023 outbreak of bluetongue disease in Europe, the bluetongue virus (BTV-3) has now spread to three Nordic countries. Denmark encountered the first case of bluetongue disease on August 9, Norway on September 6, and Sweden on September 12.

Central Asia is a diverse, important corner of the world and a growing market for U.S. goods. Agricultural imports from the world for Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan totaled $11.6 billion in 2023 and have nearly doubled over the last three years, with the United States as the 11th largest trade partner at $196 million.

Although a small market in the European Union, Denmark offers export opportunities for U.S. exporters of wine, seafood, tree nuts, and several other products.

EU imports of fuel wood totaled $1.8 billion in 2023. The two main categories of fuel wood imported by the EU are wood pellets and wood chips. This report focuses on the bioenergy market for wood chips in Northwestern Europe, which is increasingly seeking to import from outside the EU.

The Food Expo trade show is one of the leading trade events in the Nordic region and the only show in Denmark focusing on food products and (alcoholic) beverages.

On December 7, 2023, the Veterinary Service at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic informed the U.S. Department of Agriculture in writing that they will no longer accept the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, Food Safety Inspection Service, 9060-5 Meat and Poultry Export Certificate of Wholesomeness. USDA is actively working to resolve this issue.

Since December 2022, rainfall across most of Iraq has been positive, expected to result in favorable yields and increased production for winter crops wheat and barley, with rice expected to rebound this summer for marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (known as the Fødevarestyrelsen) has announced Denmark will lift its temporary ban on keeping mink as of January 1, 2023. The ban had initially been imposed for 2020/2021 for the sake of public health during the coronavirus pandemic and was later extended to include 2022.

On May 17, the Government of Iraq (GOI) announced higher purchase prices for locally-produced wheat in an effort to incentivize farmers to market their crop to the Ministry of Trade. On June 8, the GOI also passed a food security bill that allows the government to use public funds to meet urgent food needs, including issuing tenders to import wheat.

Continued drought and water shortages is affecting economic activities in Iraq, especially grain production in 2022. The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture cut agricultural cropping in irrigated areas to 50 percent less than the previous year due to shortages in surface water.

This report contains summaries of relevant decisions and documents from the Armenia-Belarus-Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan-Russia Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) meetings, published between November 21, 2020, and July 22, 2021, that impact EAEU food and agriculture policy.

On April 28, 2021, the Danish government announced its intention to cut carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture by 7.1 million tons by 2030 through increased spending on green farming technologies.