Browse Data and Analysis

Israel’s planted area with citrus in marketing year (MY) 2021/22 is forecast to be 16,200 hectares (ha) with no change from the area planted in MY 2020/21. The productive area is estimated at 15,350 ha.

In marketing year (MY) 2021/22 Chile will produce 220,000 metric tons of avocado, a 57 percent increase over MY2020/21, due to favorable climatic conditions.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s December 24, 2020, decree prevents agricultural genetically engineered product development, commercialization and import into Algeria. FAS Algiers continues to support biotechnology researchers through the Borlaug scientific exchange program.

In order to move forward in the area of agriculture biotechnology, Egypt needs a biosafety legal framework. The absence of a legal framework inhibits field trials, as well as the commercial use of genetically engineered (GE) crops.

Morocco continues to import agricultural products derived from genetically engineered (GE) technologies for use in animal feed products. No GE products have been developed or commercialized for local production in Morocco.

The Dominican Republic continues to be a strong market for U.S. bulk agricultural products (corn), intermediate goods (soybean meal), and high value consumer-oriented products (processed food products), reaching a total export value of $1.4 billion in 2020.

Biosafety regulatory efforts in the Caribbean remain stalled, and it is yet to be seen whether countries can regain the will and secure the international financing required to fully implement their National Biosafety Frameworks in a harmonized manner.

On January 29, 2021, the Court of Constitution dismissed an opposition lawsuit filed back in 2020 against the biosafety technical regulation approved on October 1, 2019 by the Ministry of Economy as part of the regulatory harmonization process with Honduras.

Agricultural biotechnology constitutes an opportunity for U.S. suppliers, as non-governmental and governmental organizations have been working to encourage its integration into the Haitian economy in recent years.

Saudi regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients.

Tunisia postponed non-urgent reforms throughout 2021 due to an unstable political environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is no timeframe for Parliament to review and vote on Tunisia’s biosafety framework, and so the policy, which was drafted in 2014, remains on hold.

Mexico is the third-largest pork importer in the world and traditionally the largest U.S. market for pork exports by volume. Over the past few years, shipments to this important market have faced headwinds. First, retaliatory tariffs related to Section 232 actions disadvantaged U.S. product. Then the coronavirus pandemic and a weak Mexican economy weighed on demand.