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On May 16, 2022, the Government of Mexico (GOM) published a presidential decree temporarily exempting the payment of import duties on 66 tariff lines covering staple food items and basic commodities for food processing. The tariff suspension is part of the GOM’s recently announced Program to Combat Food Price Inflation and Scarcity (PACIC).

This report provides an update on Turkey’s export ban on select agricultural products to stabilize local market conditions and keep food prices from running higher.

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.

To stem the burgeoning current account deficit and declining foreign exchange reserves, on May 19, 2022, Pakistan banned imports of many categories of agricultural products.

Container freight shipments have slowed to a trickle since a cyberattack took Costa Rica’s customs and taxation systems offline on April 18. Significant delays and increased costs are compounding challenges faced by Costa Rican importers already coping with pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine.

On May 16, 2022, the Government of Mexico (GOM) published a presidential decree temporarily exempting the payment of import duties on 66 tariff lines covering staple food items and basic commodities for food processing. The tariff suspension is part of the GOM’s recently announced Program to Combat Food Price Inflation and Scarcity.

On May 2, 2022, the Ministry of Consumer, Food and Public Distribution, through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced approval for the importation of an additional 550,000 metric tons (MT) of soybean meal (including GE derived).

The new Costa Rican government has announced a resumption of Hass avocado imports and proposed abolishing minimum prices for milled rice, following through on campaign promises to respect international law and address rising consumer prices.

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.

Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, is a large and promising pet food market. Imports of pet food account for more than half of the total market. While the market is mature and somewhat saturated, it is steadily growing.

The Government of Mexico (GOM) has announced a program to combat food price inflation and scarcity titled “Paquete Contra la Inflacion y la Carestia (PACIC).” Along with PACIC, President López Obrador announced a plan to maintain “fair prices” for the basic food basket, through a voluntary agreement with the private sector, without the use of mandatory price controls.