Browse Data and Analysis

The Government of Honduras implemented a new and complicated import permit system for the importation of rice and poultry that has caused major problems for U.S. shippers of these products and their customers.

Raisin production in Chile relies almost exclusively on table grape production that does meet quality levels for fresh exports. It also became a profitable alternative for orchards with traditional table grape varieties that are facing low prices in international markets.

Honduras is the twenty-seventh most important export destination for consumer goods from the United States. Honduras' imports for fiscal year 2022 was $522.6 million, ranking second only to Guatemala in Central America and sixth in the Americas.

The Brazilian orange crop for Marketing Year (MY) 2022/23 is forecast at 410.6 million 40.8-kg boxes (MBx) or 16.75 million metric tons (MMT), a slight decrease of 1.1 percent vis-à-vis the current season, with the resumption of the biennial crop cycle and consequently, a lower fruit load per tree.

Post estimates MY 2022/2023 soybean production at 21.25 million metric tons (MMT), 3.75 MMT below the official USDA estimate on lower than expected yields.

Canada is the largest overseas market for U.S. high-value, consumer-oriented products, with exports reaching nearly $19.7 billion in 2022 – representing 24 percent of the total value of U.S. consumer-oriented exports worldwide, more than doubling the value of the next largest market.

On July 10, 2023, the Federal Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) published in the Official Gazette a collection of comments/concerns/suggestions received for the proposed Official Mexican Standard NOM-187-SSA1/SE-2021, originally published on February 15, 2022.

On July 3, 2023, the Mexican Secretariat of Health proposed changes to the existing NOM-187 published in 2003.

On June 20, 2023, the Government of Canada announced next steps in their sustainable approach to pesticides management. As part of the announcement, Canada will restart the process of evaluating pesticide residue limits for increases, following a pause of this activity since August 2021.

Starting July 13, 2023, a third-party certification issued by accredited certifying bodies will be mandatory to certify maximum sodium levels in processed products listed in Colombian Resolution 2013 of 2020.

Sales in the Caribbean retail grocery sector decreased by 1.7 percent in 2022, primarily as the result of closing retail outlets in the French West Indies.

In 2022, the Chilean retail food industry witnessed a robust recovery, with total sales reaching approximately $29.5 billion, a 20.9 percent over 2021. Supermarkets and grocery stores remained the primary retail channels for food products, accounting for around 55.5 percent of the market share.