The following GAIN reports were released on November 29, 2021.
There are no significant changes to the agricultural biotechnology situation in the Czech Republic in 2021. The country generally maintains a scientific approach towards biotechnology. Czech farmers planted genetically engineered (GE) corn starting in 2005. However, that ended in 2017. This change in planting practices is a result of producers deciding that this product is too difficult to market and sell in the European market. The Czech Republic has not imposed any bans on GE crops. There are companies that use microbial biotechnologies in their production.
Public rejection of genetically engineered (GE) plants in Germany is widespread. There is no commercial GE crop production and practically no foods labeled as containing "genetically modified organisms" ("GMO") on the market. Despite this, Germany is home to world-class companies that develop and supply GE seeds globally. The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the regulation of genome editing puts the future of the domestic plant breeding sector in jeopardy. Germany's livestock industry is a major consumer of imported GE soybeans for use as animal feed.
Hungary is one of the strongest opponents of agricultural biotechnology in the European Union. Maintaining the country's GE-free status is still a government priority. However, Hungary's scientific and agricultural organizations, breeding and research institutions are speaking out in support of non-transgenic genome editing. In the case of an enabling legislative environment in the EU, the country would be open to adopting innovative biotechnologies.
On November 3, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified its Food Safety and Standards (Import) First Amendment Regulations (2021). The amendment notified relates to the inclusion of a new Chapter XIV to the food import regulations titled "Registration and Inspection of Foreign Food Manufacturing Facilities." The implementation date for this amendment is set for June 1, 2022.
On October 22, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published Direction F. No. REF/L&D-Extension/FSSAI-2021, extending the implementation date for Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations (2020), as well as for three other regulations. The others included are the (i) Food Products Standards and Food Additives; (ii) Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods; and (iii) Infant Nutrition foods regulations. The FSSAI direction establishes for the four regulations a new implementation date of July 1, 2022. The timeline relaxation applies only to the labeling provisions of the regulations.
On September 6, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published the draft Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Amendment Regulations (2021) in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary (official gazette). India subsequently communicated Notification G/TBT/N/IND/212 (dated September 20) to the WTO. This is a draft amendment made to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations (2011). The draft's major amendment states that "no person shall manufacture, sell, store or exhibit for sale, food for infant nutrition, except under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Certification Mark, wherever BIS standards are available."
On November 3, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published Order No. 12014/01/2020-QA listing the testing fees for samples of various categories of food products. The FSSAI (authority) testing fees will be uniformly applicable to both domestic and imported food products. The order's revised testing fees are effective December 1, 2021.
Israel's planted area with citrus in marketing year (MY) 2021/22 is forecast to be 16,200 hectares (ha) with no change from the area planted in MY 2020/21. The productive area is estimated at 15,350 ha. In past years, the main challenges citrus farmers and exporters faced were weather conditions and market prices. This year, for the second time, farmers had to manage COVID-19 restrictions, which affected their field work, packing house operations, and shipping logistics. Also, this year farmers and exporters faced sea logistics challenges, soaring prices for sea container transport, lack in available sea containers, and long delays in the sea ports. Even though weather conditions throughout most of the season were favorable, a ten-day period with dry winds and extreme heat in May led to the falling of flowers and fruit buds. Later in the season, higher than normal temperatures led to greater water demand, causing high expenses for the farmers.
New Zealand is an important market in the Pacific for U.S. agricultural products. In 2020, despite logistical and other challenges as a result of COVID-19, New Zealand's imports continued strong and included US$ 575 million of U.S. agricultural products. Despite its relatively small population size, it is already a top ten market for a number of U.S. exports including dairy ingredients like lactose and whey, some types of fresh fruit such as mandarins and peaches, and dried distillers grains. It is also a key market for consumer-oriented products including grocery products. New Zealand is continuing to grow in its sophistication as a market and import demand continues to expand, creating additional opportunities for U.S. exporters.
Cotton continues to be the only genetically engineered (GE) crop approved for cultivation and use. Regulatory uncertainty prevents life science companies from seeking approval for any other GE crops, and the National Biosafety Committee is still developing regulations on imports of GE commodities intended for food, feed, and processing. In 2020, Pakistan imported around 2.2 million tons of soybeans, with the United States having nearly 50 percent market share.
Korea is in the process of revising its existing Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act to cover products of innovative biotechnologies, including genome edited products. The draft revision announced in May 2021 includes a pre-review process that will determine if certain products of innovative biotechnologies require a full risk assessment or can be exempt from evaluation. Despite objections from local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Korea plans to complete its LMO revision process by the end of 2021. In April 2021, Korea identified 10 companies to promote green-bio convergence and invested 2.8 billion Korean won to support this initiative. Items developed by the selected companies include agricultural varieties that utilize genome editing technologies.
On November 15, 2021, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) released a revised 2021 rice production estimate of 3.882 million metric tons (MMT), up an additional 1.6 percentage points from the initial rice production estimate in early September and up 10.7 percent from the previous year. The increase in production was driven by higher yield (up 9.8 percent) coupled with a slight increase in crop area (up 0.8 percent). The MY 2021/22 stocks-to-use ratio is expected to rise to 36.9 percent.
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