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FAS New Delhi (Post) forecasts India's market year (MY) 2024 (January-December) cattle herd at 307.42 million head, up marginally from 307.4 million head in 2023. A gradual pace of growth is likely to persist in the short- to medium-term.

On February 19, 2024, India's Ministry of Finance (MoF)/Department of Revenue issued Notification No. 10/2024-Customs in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i) (official gazette), lowering import duties levied on frozen turkey (meat) and edible offal, cranberries, and blueberries.

On February 19, the Government of India (GOI) published a notification that rescinded -effective February 20- the import duty of 10 percent for cotton with a staple length above 32 millimeters (mm).

FAS Mumbai forecasts marketing year (MY) 2023/24 cotton production at 26 million 480 lb. bales on 12.7 million hectares area planted, unchanged from the previous forecast. A strong pace of new crop arrivals during the first four months of the MY indicates a much larger crop size than previous trade estimates.

FAS New Delhi estimates India’s rapeseed-mustard production for marketing year (MY) 2023/2024 (October-September) at 11.9 million metric tons (MMT), harvested from 9.3 million hectares following favorable cold weather during the rabi crop season.

Cumulative rainfall during India's 2023 northeast monsoon was nine percent lower than the fifty-year average, according to India’s Meteorological Department (IMD), spurred by a delay in onset of nearly 20 days.

In 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published a series of food safety notifications. The FSSAI has re-operationalized its Labeling and Display Regulations, to include a six-month implementation extension of the disclaimer for brand names and trademarks on front-of-pack labels.

In the calendar year (CY) 2023 (January-December), India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying/Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying published the requirement for an integrated veterinary health certificate (VHC) for the import of milk and milk products into India.

On January 3, India’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) published on its website, Office Memorandum L-11/1/2019-Trade (E-11542), to delay the implementation timeline of the new integrated Veterinary Health Certificate requirements for milk and milk products by six months.

India is the world’s most populous country and boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the world. As Indian households continue to reach higher levels of consumer spending, imported agricultural products are becoming more accessible to a larger number of people.

Kenya’s consumer-oriented food imports increased 9 percent to $529 million in 2022. This increase was fueled by a positive economic recovery from COVID-19-related disruptions, a sound macroeconomic environment, and a shift in consumer preferences towards convenience, variety, and international cuisines.

FAS New Delhi projects India’s organic agriculture sector to be valued at $2.5 billion for the 2023/24 Marketing Year (MY). According to various sources, the domestic consumption of organic foods is trending upwards as the Indian consumer focus on health and wellness continues.