Browse Data and Analysis

Hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) foodservice industry sales in the Netherlands in 2023 were valued at €15.3 billion in 2023, up by nine percent compared to 2022. Last year, sales in all segments saw an increase but restaurants and cafés saw its sales go up the most, profiting from the trading down trend among consumers.

The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) Bureau of Import and Export Food Safety (BIEFS) updated the list of products and codes subject to Decree 248.

On October 30, 2024, the National Agriculture Technology Extension Service Center (NATESC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) released its supply and demand forecast for major crop seeds (i.e., rice, corn, wheat, soybean, cotton, and rapeseed) for Marketing Year (MY) 2024/25 at the National Seed Information Exchange and Commodity Trading Fair.

This report focuses on specific Spanish certification requirements that differ from or are in addition to EU-harmonized certification. Compared to 2023, this report contains new country-specific certificates as well as updated links to relevant information sources and contacts.

This report is an update of GAIN report SP2023-0036. It outlines the legislation applicable to the export of U.S. food products to Spain, particularly focusing on those rules that differ from EU legislation.

On November 15, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced that, effective December 1, the 13 percent export tax rebate for used cooking oil (UCO) under HS code 151800 would be eliminated.

On October 25, 2024 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) published a National Smart Agriculture Action Plan (2024-2028) (hereafter “Action Plan”).

On October 18, 2024, China notified National Food Safety Standard for Sterilized Milk Amendment No. 1 to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under G/SPS/N/CHN/1322.

The biotechnology regulatory system in Ukraine is still not fully developed, but the country is gradually adjusting its domestic policies to align with European Union regulations.

Serbia’s 2009 “Law on Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs)” prohibits the importation and commercial production of genetically engineered crops. While Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has prepared a more forward-leaning “Law on GEOs” amendment in 2018, the current Serbian government has not considered adoption of this revision.

Maintaining Hungary’s GE-free status remains a government priority. Although the country’s scientific and breeding institutions were supportive of genome editing, the EC’s legislative proposal on NGTs was caught in a political crossfire in October 2023.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) continues to advance its agricultural biotechnology system for commercial cultivation of domestically-developed genetically engineered (GE) food and feed crops, specifically corn and soybeans.