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In 2022, the Brazilian bovine sector is expected to expand its cattle production by 2.5 percent, driven by global demand, elevated beef prices, and the recovery phase that the sector is going through. Nevertheless, in 2022, increasing production costs, especially feed prices, general inflation, and unstable weather will pose serious challenges to cattle ranchers.

Since the beginning of 2022, Taiwan’s table egg prices continue to set new price records. The egg wholesale market closed at an all-time high price of 80NTD ($2.81USD) per kilogram on March 15. The primary contributors to the recent spike in table egg prices are lower placement of laying hens resulted from high feed prices, culling of birds contaminated by avian influenza, and lower seasonal production cycle.

On Monday, March 21st, the Government of Brazil (GOB) decided to temporarily eliminate the import tariff of ethanol, as well as five other agricultural products (coffee, margarine, cheese, spaghetti, sugar, and soybean oil).

This report is a voluntary update to GAIN Report TW2020-0014, published February 25, 2020. The report provides a brief introduction to Taiwan’s pesticide residue policy to include maximum residue limit (MRL) import tolerance applications, up-to-date MRL database, frequently used residue testing methods and recent MRL announcement history.

Taiwan's economy is booming with the GDP forecasted to increase 4.42 percent in 2022. In 2021, Taiwan imported $3.93 billion worth of agricultural and food products from the US, making it the 6th largest market for U.S. agricultural products.

Hong Kong continues to take random tests on imports of chilled and frozen foods and their packaging for the COVID-19 virus.

As the world’s third largest vegetarian market with an increasing flexitarian population, Taiwan bodes well for the ingredients that address low fat, high fiber, and plant-based protein.

Brazil is a powerhouse agricultural producer, ranking among the top three global exporters for a host of commodities. To support its massive agribusiness sector, Brazil relies on imported inputs, including fertilizers. Annually, Brazil imports over 80 percent of its total fertilizer needs.