Browse Data and Analysis

The regional harvested area for Marketing Year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to rise 17 percent at 1.38 million hectares (MHA) compared to the previous year based on expectations of good farm gate prices and improved security and stability in many cotton-growing areas.

South Africa’s corn crop in marketing year 2023/24 has been affected by an El Niño induced mid-summer drought, resulting in an expected drop of more than 15 percent in crop volume.

The South African ports have been overwhelmed with challenges in the past few years, causing delays in operations and financial losses. In 2022, the Container Port Performance Index by the World Bank ranked the port of Durban 341 out of 348 ports in the world and the Port of Cape Town was ranked 344.

Ghana continues to demonstrate its conviction that proven science-based advanced technologies remain viable options in the global efforts to achieve food security in the face of various production constraints like climate change.

FAS Nairobi forecasts Kenya's corn production will remain unchanged year-on-year in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 at 3.7 million metric tons (MT) due to similar growing conditions, area harvested, and input availability.

On February 21, 2024, The Government of Rwanda (GoR) published a new biosafety law providing requirements for the transit and utilization of living modified organisms (LMOs) produced through modern biotechnology techniques. This law enters effect immediately.

Due to rising insecurity in grain producing regions and higher input costs affecting planting decisions, corn and rice production is expected to decline in marketing year (MY) 2024/25.

South Africa is a significant market for American agricultural goods. Due to its expanding market, which supports the effective delivery of both imported and domestically produced agricultural products to major urban areas and the broader Southern Africa region, the country is a desirable location for businesses.

On October 3, 2022, Kenya’s newly elected president, Dr. William Ruto, lifted the 10-year ban on importation and cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) agricultural products. This decision opens a path to importation of GE agricultural commodities and domestic production of GE crops in accordance with Kenya’s existing regulatory structure.

The Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform appears to have issued a circular with new import and transshipment requirement for animal and animal products into and through Namibia that states that importers must obtain a Namibian Veterinary Import Permit or Namibian Veterinary Import Permit for Conveyance In-Transit for commodities aimed for use in Namibia or in-transit.

This report describes the import requirements and regulations for food and agricultural products required by the Government of Tanzania (GoT). The report outlines Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) rules and other regulations for U.S exports to Tanzania.

Ghana has experienced a sudden economic downturn, a product of internal miscalculations and external shocks. Once ranked among the fastest growing economies in the world, Ghana has lost the steam that made it a shining example of a well-managed economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, and now finds itself in economic turmoil.