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With a stable democracy, predictable business climate, and economic growth fueled by a resurgent tourism industry, Costa Rica presents excellent export opportunities for U.S. food and beverage exporters in 2023.

FAS/San José anticipates Costa Rican orange production to rise to 305,000 metric tons in marketing year 2022/23, despite challenging growing conditions, as effective citrus greening management and increased density tree patterns drive yields higher.

The members of the Pacific trade bloc Alliance advanced Costa Rica’s bid for full membership, charting a course for Costa Rica to formally join Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile in 2023.

In the past year, there have been no major changes in Kazakhstan’s biotechnology policies, although the government may be making plans to regulate and commercialize agricultural biotechnologies. For the time being, Kazakhstan continues to rely on Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) regulations for guidance on biotechnology issues.

Though area planted with genetically engineered crops continued to fall in 2022, expanded operations of another cottonseed producer, opportunities to increase pink pineapple exports, and a new government opposed to ‘red tape’ could reverse this trend in 2023. While neither livestock nor other animal producers in Costa Rica appear interested in animal biotechnology applications at this time, a regulatory structure exists.

FAS-Astana forecasts no significant change to wheat and barley planted area for marketing year (MY) 2022/2023. After production declined due to hot and dry weather last MY, wheat production in MY 2022/2023 rebounded to an estimated 14.5 million metric tons (MMT).

U.S. exports of consumer-oriented products rose 34 percent in 2021, climbing to $394 million, due in part to a strong recovery in the tourism sector. There were more than 1.4 million in-bound international travelers through July 2022, slightly off the pre-pandemic pace, but more than double 2021 levels and including nearly 820,000 Americans.

On September 13, Kazakhstan announced the end of wheat and wheat flour export restrictions that had been in effect since April 14, 2022. Since the restrictions went into effect, Kazakhstani exporters utilized 83 percent of the wheat and 66 percent of...

FAS-Nur-Sultan forecasts no significant change to wheat planted area for MY2022/23. Producers in Kazakhstan's three main wheat producing regions reported no adverse weather events and precipitation has been generally more than last year, especially through June, although July precipitation in some areas has come in slightly lower.

On April 19, 2022, the Ministry of Trade and Integration announced the second stage of 2022 meat and poultry tariff rate quotas (TRQs) by Harmonized System (HS) code for historic suppliers (i.e., importers). The second stage approved the distribution of 8,505 tons of beef and 94,500 tons of poultry.

On July 6, the Government of Costa Rica published a draft executive decree that would dramatically reduce tariffs on imported milled and rough rice. The vast majority of U.S. rice exported to Costa Rica in 2021 (valued at $25 million) entered under a duty free quota for rough rice established by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

This report is an overview of the general legal and technical requirements for food and agricultural imports imposed by Kazakhstan. The following sections of this report have been updated from the 2021 FAIRS report: Section VI "Phytosanitary Requirements" relating to planned use of e-phytosanitary certificates within the Eurasian Economic Union.