Browse Data and Analysis

There are new export opportunities for oysters grown in Massachusetts and Washington since the EU lifted its import ban on live, chilled, frozen, and processed bivalve mollusks from the United States. As part of the equivalency arrangement between the EU and the United States, the U.S. market will now also be open for Dutch oysters, creating a win-win.

Forced by record high feed and energy prices and tightening environmental restrictions, EU cattle and swine farmers are scaling back production. High carcass prices have encouraged cattle farmers to advance the slaughter of their herds, but lower slaughter weights will put pressure on overall beef production this year.

In Marketing Year (MY) 2022, FAS Warsaw forecasts Poland’s total cherry production at 261,500 metric tons (MT), consisting of 183,000 MT sour cherries and of 78,500 MT sweet cherries. Post forecasts that the domestic consumption of cherries will increase by 14.4 percent, mostly due to bigger availability of these fruits for the processing industry.

Germany is the third-largest importer of cherries in the world after China/Hong Kong and Russia. From 2010 to 2021, between 52 and 77 percent of the cherries consumed in Germany were imported, with the majority of imports originating in other EU member states.

Persistent drought from May to August 2022 has damaged most of the spring crops in Serbia, mainly corn, soya, and fruits. Crop yields are forecast to decline by 20-30 percent, with total losses potentially reaching $ billion.

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 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.

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.

The outcomes of COVID-19 pandemic have undeniably changed the gastronomic habits in Europe for the foreseeable future. Behaviors that developed over the lockdown months are continuing to shape purchasing preferences of German consumers.

Post projects Ukraine’s walnut production decreasing to 95,500 metric tons (MT) for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 based on a combination of suboptimal weather conditions and some production areas in Russian occupied areas. Exports were slow for two consecutive marketing years (MY) in a row: MY2020/21 – because of quality issues and administrative barriers by Turkey; and MY2021/22 – due to constrained logistics stemming from Russia’s invasion.

On August 3-5, 2022, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) presented the 2022 EU apple and pear crop forecast at the 47th edition of the Prognosfruit convention. WAPA forecasts the 2022 EU fresh apples crop at 12.2 million metric tons (MT), 1.3 percent above the 2021 harvest and nine percent higher than the average of the preceding three years.