Browse Data and Analysis

The regional harvested area for Marketing Year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to rise 17 percent at 1.38 million hectares (MHA) compared to the previous year based on expectations of good farm gate prices and improved security and stability in many cotton-growing areas.

South Africa’s corn crop in marketing year 2023/24 has been affected by an El Niño induced mid-summer drought, resulting in an expected drop of more than 15 percent in crop volume.

From March 4-6, 2024, 26 representatives from all ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste participated in a USDA-funded agricultural biotechnology workshop - along with dozens of private sector stakeholders at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The South African ports have been overwhelmed with challenges in the past few years, causing delays in operations and financial losses. In 2022, the Container Port Performance Index by the World Bank ranked the port of Durban 341 out of 348 ports in the world and the Port of Cape Town was ranked 344.

On March 1, the Government of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) listed five U.S. halal certifying bodies (HCBs) on its website as fully accredited to issue halal certificates for U.S. products destined for the Indonesian market.

Ghana continues to demonstrate its conviction that proven science-based advanced technologies remain viable options in the global efforts to achieve food security in the face of various production constraints like climate change.

Indonesia palm oil production is forecast to rise marginally to 47 million metric tons (MMT) in 2024/25 on expected recovery from extreme weather in 2023.

FAS Nairobi forecasts Kenya's corn production will remain unchanged year-on-year in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 at 3.7 million metric tons (MT) due to similar growing conditions, area harvested, and input availability.

On February 21, 2024, The Government of Rwanda (GoR) published a new biosafety law providing requirements for the transit and utilization of living modified organisms (LMOs) produced through modern biotechnology techniques. This law enters effect immediately.

Due to rising insecurity in grain producing regions and higher input costs affecting planting decisions, corn and rice production is expected to decline in marketing year (MY) 2024/25.