Browse Data and Analysis

This report is an annual update of Venezuela’s agricultural product import standards and enforcement mechanisms for U.S. exporters of agricultural commodities, foods, and beverages.

This report identifies the export certification requirements for agricultural and food products.

Market year (MY) 2025/2026 Venezuelan sugar production is forecast to grow upward to 415,000 metric tons on account of steady yields, continued access to crop inputs, and sustained profit margins within the sugar industry.

FAS (Post) forecasts Venezuelan market year (MY) 2025/2026 corn production to reach 1.2 million metric tons (MMT), a 14 percent decrease year-on-year due to a significant drop in seed availability for the summer planting season.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2025/26 are forecast to decline 10 percent to 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), due to projected high local production. Saudi barley imports for MY 2025/26 are projected to increase by 10 percent to 3.3 MMT compared to last MY.

The HRI sector is witnessing remarkable growth, fueled by urbanization, a surging population, rising disposable incomes, shifting social and cultural trends, and a thriving tourism industry. The Saudi food retail market, currently valued at $30 billion, is projected to grow by another $15 billion by 2030.

The ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia bodes well for the retail food sector. In 2023, the Saudi food retail market was estimated at more than $51 billion and projected to increase by more than 5 percent annually in the coming years due to the continued urbanization, growing population, changing shopping habits, expansion of physical store locations , and increasing popularity of online platforms.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) 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. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.

The Venezuelan private sector supports biotechnology use and application. Nevertheless, the Venezuelan authority maintains a ban on the domestic use and research of modern biotechnology-derived agriculture.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2024/25 are forecast to reach 4.25 MMT, an increase of 2 percent over marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

FAS estimates Venezuela corn production at 1.36 million metric tons for the new market year (MY) 2024/2025 on a planted area of 350,000 hectares. Significant economic uncertainty persists following the July 28, 2024, presidential election, and higher inflation and a scarcity of U.S. dollars will likely inhibit increased corn acreage and limit yields.

Since 2014, Venezuela’s total meat consumption has declined 57 percent due to prolonged economic downfall. Nevertheless, since 2019, an improved economic environment has led to stabilized beef production and significant growth in the poultry sector. In 2024, total per capita meat consumption is forecast to be 32.4 kilograms, growing 83 percent from its 2018 record low.