Browse Data and Analysis

Supermarkets, hypermarkets, and independent food stores, continue expanding in Guatemala; imports of U.S. consumer-oriented products have continued to grow and in 2021, the value of these products reported a record year of $637 million.

On June 10, 2022, the Government of Kenya issued additional tariff exemptions for new feed ingredients to address rising feed costs. Duty exemptions were granted for genetically engineered Bt. cottonseed cake, distillers’ dried grains with solubles...

Guatemala maintains its 305,000 Ha of coffee, but harvested area is slightly reduced due to higher production costs, both inputs and labor. Production costs raised 32 percent as fertilizer prices continue doubling and migration is negatively impacting labor availability.

On May 5, 2022, trade and finance ministers from East African Community (EAC) member countries agreed to raise minimum common external tariffs from 25 to 35 percent on several agricultural products.

Kenya’s MY2022/23 coffee production is forecast to decrease by 10 percent to 700,000 bags due to lower yields caused by reduced fertilizer application. MY 2022/23 area planted is anticipated to remain flat at 105,000 hectares as new plantings are curtailed by a shortage of coffee seeds.

Post forecasts Kenya’s sugar production will decrease 4 percent in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 from 690,000 metric tons (MT) to 660,000 MT due to lower sugarcane yields as high fertilizer prices trigger lower application.

Guatemala continues to be a net importer of both yellow corn and rice. Corn area and production in MY2022/2023 are forecast to shrink one percent as some commercial farmers have decided not to plant corn given record high increases of more than 100 percent in fertilizer costs (mainly urea) and a nearly 90 percent increase in oil prices.

In marketing year 2022/2023, Guatemala is forecast to produce 2.6 million metric tons of sugar from sugarcane from a harvested area of 258,000 hectares.

Guatemala is one of the top food processing countries in Central America; meats and bakery and dairy products continue to lead the domestic food processing sector. U.S. suppliers have good opportunities to export bulk, intermediate, and consumer-oriented products that can be used as ingredients for further processing.

Kenya MY2022/23 corn production is forecast at 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), largely unchanged from MY2021/22 due to high fertilizer prices and farmers switching to alternative crops such as sugarcane.

Kenya is a growing middle-income nation that acts as the economic, financial, and transport hub of East Africa. Kenya’s population demographic consists of a median age of 20 years, with 33.8 percent of the population between the ages of 25 and 54 years.

Kenya’s imports of consumer-oriented food products grew at an average annual rate of 9.6 percent between 2016 and 2020. This increase was fueled by a growing middle class with rising disposable income, increased urbanization, and expanding modern food retail and food service sectors.