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FAS Mumbai (Post) forecasts marketing year (MY) 2022/23 cotton production at 27.7 million 480 lb. bales on an area of 12.8 million hectares. The current sowing progress indicates that farmers are preferring to plant higher cotton area due to prevailing high market prices. Indian yields are expected to improve by three percent due to above normal rains in major cotton growing regions.

India’s national cattle herd inventory in marketing year (MY) 2023 (January-December) is forecast marginally higher at 307.4 million head. India’s MY 2023 production of carabeef (meat derived from the Asian domestic water buffalo) and beef is forecast at 4.42 million metric tons (MMT), an increase of two percent from the current year’s estimate on continued restrictive policies on slaughter of bovine animals.

India’s soybean production estimate for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 (October-September) is slightly lowered to 11.4 million metric tons (MMT) because of the impacts of the delayed and erratic 2022 monsoon. Cumulative edible oil imports in the October 2021 to June 2022 period have increased one percent to 10.l MMT, and crude palm oil remains the primary consumed oil.

Post forecasts cotton imports from the United States to grow by 10 percent in marketing year (MY) 2022/23. Post forecast for MY 2022/23 production will increase by nearly 19 percent from previous year. Mexico's textile industry continues to respond to strong demand for yarn and fabric, particularly in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) region, for final product export to the Untied States.

Attractive cotton prices, good yields, and favorable weather conditions spurred Turkish farmers to plant more cotton earlier this spring. Owing to a larger than expected increase in cotton plantings, production in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 is forecast higher at 950,000 metric tons (MT).

In 2023, chicken meat production in Turkey is estimated to increase 9 percent to 2.68 million metric tons (MMT) due to continuing export demands and slightly higher domestic consumption. In 2023, domestic chicken meat consumption is forecast at 1.7 MMT which is 5 percent higher than 2022 but under sector hopes, mostly due to expected continued high poultry meat prices at retail outlets that are unlikely to change in the lead-up to the 2023 presidential election.

On August 18, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued clarification (No. TIC-20012/2/2021-IMPORTS-FSSAI) that its requirement for AGMARK (an Indian certification mark), prior to import of blended edible vegetable oils (BEVO), is kept in abeyance (suspended) until further notice.

On September 5, 2022, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, Henk Staghouwer, resigned after he informed the Dutch Cabinet and Parliament about his Ministry’s delay in providing a plan for the future outlook of the Dutch agricultural sector and after he failed to obtain Brussels’ permission to continue to exceed caps on how much manure farmers can return to their fields.

On August 16, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued Clarification No. 1831/Misc./FSSAI/Imports/2022 pertaining to microbial testing requirements for imported food products.

China’s biofuels policies continue to wane as a priority for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and investment in the sector has declined. Post estimates China’s 2022 ethanol blend rate at 1.8 percent, down from 2021 and well below the peak blend...

U.S. exporters can find ample opportunities in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain is the third-largest European Union (EU) destination for U.S. agricultural products, with Portugal ranking 11th. In 2021, the United States exported $1.6 billion of agricultural products to Spain, or 15 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports to the EU. The United States held a 4 percent market share of Spain’s agricultural imports and 2 percent market share in Portugal, behind other EU member states as a group and Brazil.

FAS/Canada projects moderate growth in chicken meat production in 2023, following a challenging year in 2022 due to tight supplies of hatching eggs and day-old chicks, and increased avian influenza occurrence.