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Despite the private sector's support for biotechnology, Venezuela maintains a ban on the domestic use and research of modern biotechnology-derived agriculture. Venezuela’s basis for the ban is through the Seed Law of December 2015, which also prohibits the importation of genetically engineered (GE) seeds.

Decision making around GE crops is highly politicized in Germany. The German government is conflicted and has not issued an official statement on the EU Commissions proposal to deregulate the genetic engineering law yet.

In the nine-year period from 2012 to 2020, Venezuela's economy declined 88 percent, which led to a drop in demand for agricultural products.

FAS (Post) revises Venezuela corn and rice production higher for market year (MY) 2023/2024 due to improved access to higher-quality agricultural inputs and seeds, and favorable weather conditions.

Since 2013, Venezuela’s total meat consumption has declined 66 percent due to prolonged economic collapse. However, since 2019, an improved economic environment has led to stabilized beef production and significant growth in the poultry sector.

With more than 83 million of the world’s wealthiest consumers, Germany is the largest market for food and agricultural products in the European Union.

In August 2023, after more than a decade of political discussions on the restructuring of livestock farming, a new German law on mandatory animal husbandry labeling went into effect.

This report outlines Venezuela’s food and beverage market conditions, which highlights growing opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural exporters to enter and expand in the market.

In 2022, the Venezuelan artificial insemination market was estimated at 170,000 doses per year, with 43 percent of doses imported.

Germany is the third-largest importer of cherries in the world after China/Hong Kong and Russia. From 2010 to 2022, between 52 and 77 percent of the cherries consumed in Germany were imported, with the majority of imports originating in other EU member states.

Germany is by far the biggest market for food and beverages in the European Union. The food retail sector is saturated, highly consolidated, and competitive.

Germany is a member of the European Union (EU) and generally follows EU directives and regulations, including those relating to the importation of food products.