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Egypt reversed the widely criticized mandate by the Central Bank of Egypt for importers to utilize a process where letters of credit would substitute the long-established cash-against-documents process.

On April 26, 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries designated mackerel, Pacific saury, sardine, squid and cuttlefish as vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. From December 1, 2022, Japan will require catch certificates to import products containing these species as a main ingredient.

On April 11, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that the country is battling 56 outbreak cases of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) involving farms and communal areas in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng. According to the DALRRD Animal Health Directorate, the outbreaks currently troubling South Africa were caused by illegal movements of animals out of the FMD controlled zones in Limpopo.

Rice export prices increased around 1 percent from the previous week due to strong demand for white and parboiled Thai rice.

India notified its draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Second Amendment) Order (2022), to the Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is inviting comments.

On November 9, 2020, Colombia’s Ministry of Health, and Social Protection (MINHEALTH) issued Resolution 2013, a regulation that sets mandatory maximum sodium content limits for 59 processed food product categories. Resolution 2013 introduces a new conformity certificate requirement and reduction goals for sodium content in foods.

On April 26, the Japanese Cabinet approved a 6.2 trillion yen ($48 billion) emergency economic package to mitigate the effect of surging energy and food prices on households and small businesses.

Ranked No.1 in both the facility registration by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) and the feed product registration by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), the United States accounts for 20 percent of Chinese imported pet food market share and is poised to expand.

The Canadian food regulatory authorities opened public consultations on guidance for e-commerce platforms on how to be compliant with relevant food labeling regulatory provisions. Interested stakeholders have until July 8, 2022, to provide comments on this initiative.

In 2021, Hong Kong was the thirteenth largest market for U.S. pet food exports and a hub for pet food trade to the region. Hong Kong pet owners welcome U.S. pet food for its safety and quality. Despite lower exports in 2021, the United States is still the lead supplier, holding a 29 percent share of the Hong Kong pet food market.

This report details the strong demand for U.S. Tree Nut products, driven by the growing health-oriented trends among Japanese consumers. In 2021, fresh and dried nut imports to Japan totaled $491 million, of which 78.2 percent or approximately $384 million was from the United States.

On April 28, 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation period for an upcoming proposal for a horizontal framework law to make food systems more sustainable.