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As the world’s largest whiskey consumer and a rising consumer of wine, India provides numerous opportunities for U.S. alcoholic beverage exports. To capture greater market share and generate enthusiasm and demand for U.S. alcohol, the Foreign Agricultural Service in New Delhi conducted U.S. alcoholic beverage promotions in New Delhi and Chennai, on March 10 and April 8, 2022, respectively.

On May 24, 2022, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry/Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued notification No. 10/2015-20, amending its sugar export policy. The notification specifies that exports of raw, refined, and white sugar fall under the “restricted” category.

On May 24, 2022, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry/Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued Public Notice No. 10/2015-20 (May 24, 2022) (see, Appendix I). The public notice specifies that India is allocating a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) of 2 million metric tons (MMT) for crude soybean oil and a similar TRQ of 2 MMT for crude sunflower oil in India fiscal year (IFY) 2022/23 and in IFY 2023/24. The Indian government’s measure is meant to address the high domestic prices of edible oils, and to check rising food inflation.

Heat stress resulting from an unprecedented spike in temperatures beginning in the mid-March 2022 has had a marked impact India’s wheat crop. Yields are 10-15 percent down, driving India’s forecasted market year (MY) 2022/23 (April-March) wheat production down from 110 million metric tons (MMT) to 99 MMT.

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.

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).

Bangladesh consumes approximately 6 million metric tons of chemical fertilizers annually, of which about 80 percent are imported. The four major imported chemical fertilizers in Bangladesh are urea, triple super phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash (MOP). Russia and Belarus were the dominant suppliers of MOP in Bangladesh.

On Friday, May 13, 2022, the Indian government announced a ban on wheat exports, effective immediately, citing the sudden spike in global wheat prices and the resulting food security risks to India.

India notified its draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Second Amendment) Order (2022), to the Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is inviting comments.

On December 30, 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture finalized its 2021-2030 agricultural development policy document (“concept note”) describing the agriculture sector, market development plans, international trade outlook, government support programs, and expected results of implementing agricultural policies.

On February 22, 2022, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) revised the permissible wastage rate for basic garment products to 29 percent, specialized products to 32 percent, and sweaters and socks to 16 percent.

Through its phased-in tariff reductions, the agreement will raise challenges for U.S. products including wine and spirits, cotton, pulses and beans, forest products, and tree nuts.