| The following GAIN reports were released on March 21, 2025. _______ Post forecasts that Brazilian producers will expand soybean planted area to 48.2 million hectares (ha) in the 2025/26 season, up from an estimated 47.3 million ha in 2024/25. Soybean production for 2025/26 is projected to reach 173 million metric tons (mmt), an increase from the estimated 169.5 mmt harvested this season. Soybean exports are projected to reach record levels this season, with total exports estimated at 108.3 MMT for MY 2024/25 and 112 mmt for MY 2025/26. Similarly, peanut and palm oil planted area and production are expected to increase, driven by new market opportunities and the rise in demand for product derivatives. Following Brazil's emergence as the world's leading cotton exporter in MY 2023/24, cottonseed area and production are forecast to continue rising in the 2025/26 season, supported by domestic opportunities, strategic planting decisions (second crop), profitability, and growing global demand. On March 11, 2025, the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia announced the import ban on frozen pork offal would end on March 12, 2025. Cambodia placed a temporary ban on several types of Frozen offal in March 2024, the ban on all other affected products was lifted in September 2024. On Friday, March 7, 2025, Kenya's Court of Appeal put a hold on the trade and cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) products until an appeal filed by the Kenya Peasants League is fully heard. A lower court had removed a long-standing ban on GE products in November 2024, temporarily opening Kenya to global feed markets and agro-technology; however, this appeals court decision paused any movement until a subsequent hearing in late 2025. Both feed and seed industry actors had taken steps to import GE products since November. Mexico's grain production outlook for marketing year (MY) 2025/2026 is higher for corn, rice, and sorghum due to higher local prices driving farmer planting decisions. In contrast, wheat production is expected to drop due to low dam levels in Sonora and Sinaloa. Wheat and rice imports are expected to increase with rising consumption from population growth and reduced wheat output. Corn imports are expected to decrease based on increased production and carryover from record imports in MY 2024/2025. On March 17, 2025, Mexico adopted a constitutional amendment banning domestic cultivation of "genetically modified" corn – defined as corn "produced with techniques that overcome the natural barriers of reproduction or recombination, such as transgenics" – and requiring "any other use" of such corn to be evaluated "to be free of threats to the biosafety, health and biocultural heritage of Mexico and its population." While the amendment codifies a longstanding de facto ban on cultivation, it leaves ambiguous the scope of restrictions on "other use[s]," such as corn grain imported for food or feed use. FAS/Pretoria's Grain and Feed annual report provides information on the production, supply, and distribution for corn, wheat, and rice in South Africa for marketing year (MY) 2023/24, MY 2024/25, and MY 2025/26. South Africa's overall agricultural outlook for MY 2025/26 is optimistic, with both corn and wheat production expected to see improvements on stable planting area. MY 2025/26 consumption for the major grains is expected to grow slightly, with a strong rebound for corn exports following an expected drop in MY 2024/25. However, the broader economic challenges facing South Africa, such as policy uncertainty, logistical infrastructure, and unemployment issues, remain a concern and could impact the long-term sustainability of consumption growth. In 2024, Taiwan imported US$3.8 billion agricultural products from the US, which accounted for 24.81 percent of the island's total import value. Its food processing industry produced $30 billion of processed food and beverages, among which the strongest subsectors are animal feed, butchery, meat processing, backed goods, and non-alcoholic beverages. The aged market is attracted to healthy and safe products with added nutritional benefits, as well as convenient, single portion products to better suit the changing family structure. The efficiency of Ukraine's beef production remains low, with most beef derived from dairy animals. Post expects livestock numbers and beef production to decrease in 2025, continuing a three-decade-long trend. Ukraine will remain a large live cattle exporter, with the Middle East as the primary export market, but exports of both live animals and beef will be depressed by lower animal inventory. In 2025, swine inventory is expected to decrease further after the 2024 drop caused by African Swine Fever (ASF). The number of ASF cases was significant in January-February 2025, endangering production in both household and industrial farms; however, the production decline is likely to be small and will depend on ASF developments over the rest of the year. Ukraine will have to resume pork imports to sustain domestic consumption. For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/. | 
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