Browse Data and Analysis

Post slightly lowers the MY 2023/24 rice production forecast due to some minor aman season crop damage caused by a cyclone. Despite the reduced production, Post lowers the rice import forecast to 500 thousand MT, as the Government of Bangladesh maintains its high rice import tariff of 62.5 percent.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, FAS/Cairo forecasts fresh orange exports to reach 2.0 million metric tons (MMT) up from 1.6 MMT in MY 2022/23.

Global events have contributed to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, high inflation, and a lack of foreign currency. Although Egypt had started to recover its tourism industry and economy after COVID-19, the Russian war in Ukraine contributed to a rise in food prices and a lack of forex.

On December 3, 2023, Egypt’s General Organization of Veterinary Services (GOVS) published an official decree (Decision Number 1 2023) in the Egyptian Gazette for registration procedures for companies providing certifications for halal food.

On December 8, 2023, the Government of Egypt filed a seventh addendum to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) – G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.7 – extending the requirement for halal certification for imported milk and dairy products until December 31, 2024. This deadline has been extended several times already.

Bangladesh is pursuing advanced biotechnological crop research. In June 2023, the Bangladesh Academy of Science submitted a “Standard Operating Procedures for Research and Release of Genome Edited Plants of Categories SDN-1 and SDN-2 in Bangladesh”...

The planting of GE crops in Egypt is currently not authorized as there is no biosafety legal framework in place. The absence of a legal biosafety framework impedes field trials and commercialization of GE crops.

Post lowers the forecast for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 raw cotton imports to 7.5 million bales on lower work orders for garments coupled with Bangladesh’s economic challenges including declining foreign exchange reserves. The export value of ready...

Egyptian marketing year (MY) 2023/24 wheat imports are estimated at 12.0 million metric tons (MMT), up by 6.9 percent from MY 2022/23 due to lower area and production.

In Egypt, grapes are one of the most widely grown fruit crops, second to citrus. There are many varieties of table grapes produced in Egypt.

Egypt's economy is under pressure due to rising inflation and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- Egyptian food prices are rising and U.S. dollars are increasingly hard to access.

This is a periodic report outlining the prices of agricultural commodities in Bangladesh, as well as major trade and policy updates.