For almost 50 years, Bangladesh required U.S. cotton be fumigated because of concerns about the boll weevil. Collaboration between USDA agencies and the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture resulted in amended import requirements, exempting the United States from the list of countries required to fumigate cotton upon arrival.
With research and development funds provided by the FAS Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program, FAS and ARS are working to produce compostable PLU labels. They are collaborating with the International Fresh Produce Association and Sinclair Systems International to meet the EU standards. The goal is to develop adhesives that are both food-safe and compostable. When achieved, this will allow American companies to export fruits and vegetables as usual while helping to decrease food waste and methane emissions.
By Jason Carver, Senior Economist, FAS Global Policy Analysis Division The United States has free trade agreements with 20 countries around the world that expand export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural producers. To help exporters obtain...
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently launched an online system that modernizes the way the agency informs the U.S. agricultural industry regarding changes in international food and agriculture regulations that could affect U.S. exports...