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Despite private sector support for biotechnology, Venezuela’s ban on the domestic use of and research on modern biotechnology-derived agriculture remains in place. The backbone of this ban is the Seed Law of December 2015, which also prohibits the importation of genetically-engineered seeds.

As of September 2022, Israel does not have a policy restricting the use of imported genetically engineered (GE) commodities or derivative products. There are no changes in Israel’s policy towards plant, animal biotechnology, and microbial biotechnology compared to 2021.

The impact of the COVID-19 on the Israeli hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sector was nothing short of devastating. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, accommodation and foodservice activities declined by forty percent in 2020. The sector started to recover during 2021, and it is expected to recover, with a return to pre-COVID-19 sales by 2023.

Venezuela's economic recovery continues, strengthening Venezuelans' purchasing power and consumption. As a result, in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 wheat consumption is revised up 4 percent compared to USDA's official forecast, while imports will increase to 1.3 million MT. The United States remains the largest supplier of hard red winter wheat to Venezuela.

Food availability in Venezuela has improved since reaching an all-time low in 2019 as the result of informal dollarization of the economy, lower inflation, increased private sector activity, and a growth in domestic production and imports.

Total meat consumption in Venezuela has declined 68.9 percent since 2013 as a result of the economic collapse. However, a better economic environment since 2019 has led to a stabilization of beef production and significant growth in chicken production. In 2022, beef production is forecast to grow 5 percent from 2021 to 287,803 MT.

• Israel passes amendments to the Public Health Protection Act (Food) to ease and reduce the regulatory burden on food importation. Among the amendments is an importation track called the “European Track” which will come into force on January 1, 2023. • New temporary provision easing the importation of certain sensitive foods, “Public Health Protection Act Food (Certificate of Release for Certain Sensitive Foods) (Temporary Provision)- 2022.” • Cancellation of the additional requirements for importing and releasing food products imported without direct contact with the manufacturer.

The report lists and describes certificates that should accompany food and agricultural products to Israel. It also includes the purpose of each certificate and the governmental agency responsible. In general, an original invoice, bill of lading, packing list, weighing list, health certificate, batch number certificate, invoice declaration, and insurance certificate are required to accompany any shipment. An export certificate matrix is included in this report.

In June 2022, Israel authorized the import of U.S. processed meat products, thus making the United States the first and only country with market access for processed meat products in Israel.

To assist U.S. exporters, FAS Tel Aviv has translated Israel’s limits on heavy metals in foodstuffs.

Israel is a net importer of all major categories of food products. The United States is the top leading supplier of imported consumer-oriented agricultural products to Israel with a total of $384 million in 2020. The Israel food retail sector was estimated at $12.8 billion in 2021.

On May 4 and 5, 2022, Venezuela’s National Supermarkets Association held an event entitled “Radiography of the Retail Sector in Venezuela 2022.” The goal of this event was to evaluate the Venezuelan retail sector situation including changes in retail and consumer trends, emerging threats, and new opportunities for growth.