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China ended its three-year long COVID restrictions in late December 2022. Since then, hotels have generally had a robust return of customers, while restaurants performed differently.

FAS Manila maintains its September 2023 forecast for rice and corn production and imports, but lowers its forecast slightly for wheat imports to 6.0 million metric tons.

Already reeling from high fruit prices, Korean consumers will face another year of expensive, lower-quality apples. Korea’s apple production for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 fell 25 percent year-on-year after orchards suffered a series of adverse weather events in 2023.

This year ATO Osaka organized various promotional activities across western Japan, reaching 24 million consumer through in-person events, print, television, radio, and social media. ATO Osaka hosted the largest USA pavilion ever at the FABEX Kansai trade show and debuted the first-ever USA pavilion at the Food Style Kyushu trade show.

Korea's total citrus production is forecast at 570,000 metric tons (MT), a 2.1 percent decline from the previous marketing year (582,000 MT), driven by lower yield for open-field tangerines, and a slight reduction in planted area. As the prices of other domestic and imported fruits rise, consumption of relatively cheap citrus - both imported and domestic - is expected to remain strong.

The Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) has announced on its website the proposal to approve and add more plants or plant parts for use as a raw material for tea infusion products to the existing approved list under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health No. 426 B.E. 2564 (2021) Re: Tea Infusion.

Rice export prices increased 1-2 percent due to the strong demand for Thai rice and the strengthening of the Thai baht.

Indonesian cotton imports in 2023/24 are forecast to marginally increase by 5.9 percent to 1.8 million bales compared to 1.7 million bales in 2022/23 assuming spinners will use more inventory on hand before making new purchases.

Japan’s MY 2022/23 mandarin production recovers from last year’s historically lowest production. However, overall Japanese citrus planted area and production is on a downward trend amidst aging farmers, labor shortages, and a lack of successors for running farms.

This report contains guidance from the Office of Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China for U.S. exporters who continue experiencing difficulties registering their manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities subject to General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) Decree 248.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MOH) issued Circular 17/2023 amending several regulations on food additives, flavors, and processing aids.

Early seasonal conditions for the MY 2023/24 citrus crop have been favorable, and producers expect to benefit from an easing of fertilizer and crop protection chemical costs, along with a further easing of labor constraints. Orange production is expected to increase five percent to 530,000 metric tons (MT) from the prior’s year estimate, the second highest over the last two decades.