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The COVID 19 pandemic in Malaysia saw most government agencies operating at minimum staffing with most working from home throughout 2020 and 2021. This has severely impacted the number of GE events approved by the National Biosafety Board (NBB).

Sri Lanka does not produce genetically engineered (GE) crops or animals. Some GE research, however, occurs at the laboratory level, but that research does not reach commercialization.

India remains undecided on genetically engineered (GE) crops, despite its regulatory authorities clearing on the environmental release of GE eggplant and mustard events. Bt cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis) is the only biotech crop approved for commercial cultivation.

In the current marketing year running from July 2021 to June 2022, Korea’s fresh apple production and consumption are projected to rise by 13 percent after several years of gradual decline.

Since the start of COVID-19, Philippine consumers have incorporated more fresh fruit into their diet. Global exports of fresh fruits to the Philippines increased 36 percent to $695 million in 2020 and are forecast to grow five percent in 2021.

On November 15, 2021, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released a revised 2021 rice production estimate of 3.882 million metric tons (MMT), up an additional 1.6 percentage points from the initial rice production estimate in early September and up 10.7 percent from the previous year.

New Zealand is an important market in the Pacific for U.S. agricultural products. In 2020, despite logistical and other challenges as a result of COVID-19, New Zealand’s imports continued strong and included US$ 575 million of U.S. agricultural products.

Korea is in the process of revising its existing Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act to cover products of innovative biotechnologies, including genome edited products.

Cotton continues to be the only genetically engineered (GE) crop approved for cultivation and use. Regulatory uncertainty prevents life science companies from seeking approval for any other GE crops, and the National Biosafety Committee is still developing regulations on imports of GE commodities intended for food, feed, and processing.

On November 3, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published Order No. 12014/01/2020-QA listing the testing fees for samples of various categories of food products.

On November 3, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified its Food Safety and Standards (Import) First Amendment Regulations (2021).

On September 6, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published the draft Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Amendment Regulations (2021) in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary (official gazette).