Browse Data and Analysis

On November 5, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare published a marketing year 2024/25 production forecast at the lowest level in five years, at 23.4 million 480 lb. bales on an area of 11.4 million hectares.

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

India’s 2025 beef production (mostly carabeef) is forecast to reach 4.64 million metric tons (MMT), up from 4.57 MMT in 2024, on steady domestic and increased export demand.

Sri Lanka’s agricultural biotechnology policies remain unchanged. Over the past year, there has been no progress in the approval of its draft Biosafety Act, which establishes a system to protect biodiversity, the environment and human, plant and animal health while minimizing the risks of biotechnology.

On November 7, 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) opened a consultation on risk mitigation options for U.S. packaged honey bees as part of their process for updating the risk analysis for importation of U.S. packages.

FAS Mumbai forecasts MY 2024/25 Indian raw cotton exports at 1.2 million 480 lb. bales, 55 percent lower than previous estimate, due to India lint prices trading four percent higher than global prices, prompting buyers to prefer finer quality machine-picked cotton from foreign origins.

Kazakhstan has not announced any changes to its biotechnology policies. Major challenges like climate change, variable weather, monocropping wheat, and the reliance on Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member biotechnology regulations could be a future catalyst for Kazakhstan to develop its own biotechnology law.

The Philippines has been a pioneer within Asia in adopting biotechnology crops. On April 17, 2024, the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling on the Writ of Kalikasan revoked the biosafety permit for commercial propagation of golden rice and directed the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) to cease and desist from commercially propagating and conducting activities relating to Bt eggplant.

Canadian apple production is forecast to see a five percent growth in MY 2024/25, driven by a larger Quebec crop and average Ontario crop. Pear production is forecast to be down nine percent on 2023 numbers as a result of cold impacts to the crop in...

Canada continues to be the largest export market for U.S. consumer-oriented products. In 2023, U.S. consumer-oriented exports to Canada reached $20.2 billion, representing 25 percent of the total value of U.S. consumer-oriented exports worldwide.

Canada is the largest overseas market for U.S. high-value, consumer-oriented products, with exports reaching $20.4 billion in 2023 – representing a 2 percent growth from 2022. Canada's retail market is mature and largely consolidated, with five retailers comprising nearly 80 percent of the total retail grocery market.

According to preliminary model-based field crop estimates, spring wheat production in MY 2024/2025 fell one percent over the previous year on a 2.9 percent decline in area planted, partly offset by improved average yields.