Browse Data and Analysis

Thai export rice prices experienced downward pressure and then slightly recovered after Songkran holidays, reflecting tariff changes and adjustments in the global rice market.

In market year (MY) 2025/2026, FAS Bogota (Post) forecasts Colombia’s sugar production to recover to 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) due to improved weather conditions from the weakening of the La Niña phenomenon and expected normal weather patterns, positively impacting sugarcane yields and sucrose content.

MY 2025/26 sugar production is expected to further increase 2 percent from MY 2024/25. MY 2024/25 sugar demand by industrial uses is likely to decline significantly due to the Chinese ban on Thai sugar syrup exports.

FAS Bangkok forecasts stability, with modest growth expected in rice and corn production, supported by favorable weather and strong domestic demand.

On March 5, 2025, Colombia's National Institute for the Surveillance of Food and Medicines (INVIMA) confirmed that starch is approved by the Colombian government as an additive for use as a thickener and stabilizer agent in fresh cheese.

MY 2025/26 soybean crushing demand to grow at a slower pace of two percent due to slow economic recovery with uncertainties from the U.S. reciprocal tariff measures.

In 2024, Taiwan's pet food market saw significant activity, with total imports reaching a record high of $276.8 million. Thailand continued to be the largest supplier of pet food to Taiwan, followed by the United States, South Korea, Canada, and Japan.

The United States remains the top international supplier to Colombia's food ingredients sector.

In MY2025/2026, Taiwan’s wheat imports are forecast at 1.38 MMT supported by Taiwan consumers’ preference for more diverse food offerings including wheat-based products and a vibrant baking industry.

Taiwan’s soybean imports are forecast at 2.65 MMT for MY2024/2025 and MY2025/2026, a slight increase from the previous MY.

In 2024, Taiwan imported US$3.8 billion agricultural products from the US, which accounted for 24.81 percent of the island’s total import value.

Anyone exporting food or feed products to Colombia should note that since March 2025, Colombian quarantine officials have stopped allowing updates to many details on import permits and are no longer allowing any changes after the products have left port.