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The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department is in the process of mapping out legislative initiatives coupled with public education to enhance waste management. U.S. food exports to the city could be impacted by the government’s adoption of various producer responsibility schemes (PRSs) relating to plastic and glass beverage containers by which manufacturers/importers are expected to pay a levy.

Having pegged its nationally acceptable limit of aflatoxin in peanut at 10 parts per billion (ppb) as far back as 2018, Ghana could well be leading, and not just supporting the regional block’s preference of setting the MRL for aflatoxin in peanut at 10 ppb.

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.

In the first quarter of 2022, U.S. agricultural exports fell to the lowest level in four years. While expanding U.S. direct exports to China, and lingering shipping issues continue to drive the overall decline in U.S. agricultural exports to Hong Kong, government restrictions in response to the city’s fifth wave of the pandemic exacerbated the drop in U.S. agricultural sales.

Nigeria’s current 10-year Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) will end next year – likely moving on to another 10-year Phase Two Plan. The growth in sugar consumption is expected to be driven by the food processing sector.

The South African Agricultural Economic Fact Sheet has been updated to include calendar year 2021. Bilateral agricultural trad between the United States and South Africa reached record levels of US$860 million in 2021.

The Hong Kong wine market has stayed resilient since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The local foodservice business has suffered the most as the operation of restaurants and bars were often curbed to contain the virus. However, wine retail sales injected energy to a sluggish market and enabled the continuation of wine consumption in Hong Kong.

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.

FAS/Nairobi forecasts an increase in Uganda’s marketing year (MY) 2022/23 coffee production to a new record of 6.65 million bags due to favorable weather and recently established plantations coming into full production. Arabica production is anticipated to decrease by 5.2 percent to 900,000 bags due to cyclical yield variation.

South Africa is set for a record pome fruit and table grape production in marketing year 2021/22. Favorable weather conditions, new areas under production, and higher yielding cultivars is driving the growth in production.

In 2021, the total value of U.S. agricultural and food exports to Hong Kong dropped 12 percent compared to 2020, continuing its decline from the 2017 peak and reaching its lowest level since 2008. The overall drop in exports was driven primarily by lower sales of consumer-ready products which offset recoveries in other product categories.

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.