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India has extended the policy of unrestricted imports of yellow peas at zero duty until March 31, 2026. On May 30, 2025, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued a custom notification continuing the import duty exemption on yellow peas through March 31, 2026.

Consistently ranking as the top Southeast Asia destination for U.S. consumer-oriented agricultural products, the Philippines presents a resilient market for U.S. food and beverage products, supported by a young workforce with high disposable income, a growing middle-income consumer base, and remittances from overseas workers.

India presents both significant opportunities and notable challenges for U.S. food and beverage exports. As the world’s fastest-growing major economy and currently the fifth largest globally, India is projected to rise to third place by 2028.

FAS Manila maintains its overall forecast for milled rice and wheat in Marketing Year (MY) 2025/26, while increasing its forecast for corn production, area harvested, and consumption.

Post forecasts a 10 percent growth in fuel ethanol imports to 450 million liters in 2025, prompted by gasoline pool increases and uptake of voluntary E20 (20 percent ethanol blended to gasoline).

On June 10, 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced the revised definitions and conversion rates for carcass and offal of selected livestock and poultry animals.

Post estimates India’s ethanol production in calendar year (CY) 2025 to reach 10.5 billion liters (BL), marking a 46 percent increase over 2024 due to improved feedstock availability and favorable monsoon conditions.

On June 10, 2025, the Philippine Health Secretary temporarily suspended the implementation of new fees and charges for services under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) jurisdiction due to concerns from various sectors.

On May 27, 2025, the Indian Metrological Department forecast an above-normal precipitation in the upcoming 2025 monsoon in most parts of the country.

On May 30, 2025, India reduced its import duty on crude soybean, sunflower, and palm oil from 20 percent to 10 percent, lowering the effective duty to 16.5 percent.

India published guidelines for accepting recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) as a food contact material. These guidelines are in alignment with its recently published measure that aims to enhance food safety standards by allowing the use of rPET for food packing, storage, and distribution.

On April 15, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted a 59 percent chance of an above-normal 2025 southwest monsoon, and an onset date of May 27, five days ahead of typical June 1 onset.