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Rice export prices increased 1- 4 percent mainly due to the strengthening of the Thai baht.

The Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) has announced on its website the proposal to approve and add more plants or plant parts for use as a raw material for tea infusion products to the existing approved list under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health No. 426 B.E. 2564 (2021) Re: Tea Infusion.

Rice export prices increased 1-2 percent due to the strong demand for Thai rice and the strengthening of the Thai baht.

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.

The steady demand for Thai rice from ASEAN countries slightly boosted rice export prices and offset the weakening of the Thai baht.

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.

Rice export prices increased 2-4 percent as the Thai baht strengthened and new crop rice harvesting was nearly completed.

Thailand has yet to finalize its Biodiversity Act. Since December 4, 2022, the Thai Food and Drug Administration has enforced two notifications regarding GE (termed “Genetically Modified” or GM) food imports, production and labeling.

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.

Rice export prices increased 2-5 percent as the Thai baht strengthened.