Browse Data and Analysis

On June 28, 2024, China notified a supplemental Entry Plant Quarantine Pests List to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under G/SPS/N/CHN/1301. China’s SPS Enquiry Point at sps@customs.gov.cn will accept comments on the draft until August 27, 2024. This report provides an unofficial translation of the Announcement and includes the additional pests list as an attachment. Stakeholders should conduct their own review of the regulation and provide comment as necessary.

In April 2024, Canada launched the Federal Plastics Registry requiring businesses to report each year, starting in 2025, on the quantity and types of plastic they place on the market and how that plastic moves through the economy. Draft regulations and measures on other plastic packaging initiatives (minimum recycled content, recyclability labeling, reduction targets, etc) are expected by the end of 2024.

China is a leading producer of food and agricultural products in the world and one of the top markets for U.S. agricultural exports. Despite China’s slower-than expected economic recovery in 2023, demand for U.S. agricultural and food products remain strong with imports of consumer-oriented products totaling $84 billion.

Fueled by a rebound in hospitality and food service, the Philippine economy outperformed Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in 2023 despite inflationary pressure. Total U.S. agricultural and related exports to the Philippines reached $3.6 billion in 2023 with U.S. consumer-oriented and intermediate agricultural exports ranking the highest in Southeast Asia.

In 2023, Portugal imported almost $294 million worth of agricultural, fish, and forestry products from the United States. Outside the European Union Member States, the United States was the third main origin of Portuguese agricultural and related imports.

As tourists flock back to the Caribbean in larger numbers and island economies regain their footing after being challenged by global inflation, competition, and other headwinds, opportunities for U.S. suppliers are slowly emerging. While hurdles remain present on the horizon, U.S. suppliers are finding resilient Caribbean buyers to be excellent partners on the road to commercial success.

Taiwan is highly dependent on agricultural imports due to its insufficient farmland. In 2023, it imported $3.66 billion of food and agricultural products, making it US' eighth largest trading partner in agricultural goods. This extraordinary amount is achieved also because Taiwan has one of the highest disposable incomes in north Asia, and consumers generally have positive impressions of U.S. food and beverage products.

This report serves as a road map for U.S. companies exporting to Ecuador. While Ecuador is a challenging market for U.S. food and agricultural products, it is also one of opportunities. Domestic production cannot meet consumer demand, necessitating continued imports.

With a population of nearly 36 million people, including a segment of high-income consumers looking for quality imported products, Angola presents an array of export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products. Angola is a significant importer of food and agricultural goods, making foreign purchases totaling more than $1.7 billion from more than 60 countries in 2023.

Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.1 percent in 2023, making its economy the 16th largest globally. The United States is the second largest supplier of agricultural products to Indonesia with an 11-percent market share in 2023. Major exports include soybeans, wheat, cotton, milk powder, feeds and fodders, dairy, fresh fruit, and beef and beef products.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a relatively young and urbanizing populace. While there are clear food and agricultural export opportunities, the weakened economy is still making its way out of a very difficult 2023. Consumers are contending with food price inflation, and wages have not kept pace with the increase in living costs.

Guatemala ranked as the #16 largest U.S. agricultural export market despite a nine percent decline, mainly due to lower imports of bulk commodities in 2023, reaching $1.6 million. It's crucial to remember that Guatemala, relying on foreign exchange by international trade, remittances, and tourism, is the largest economy in Central America, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of $102.8 billion, a 19-million-person market, and relative economic stability.