| The following GAIN reports were released on December 22, 2025. _______ For marketing year (MY) 2025/26, Post forecasts rice and wheat imports to remain steady at 1.2 million metric tons and 6.7 million metric tons, respectively, reflecting continued demand in the domestic market. Supporting this trend, the Government of Bangladesh committed to purchasing 660,000 MT of U.S. wheat, making the country one of its top ten markets. In addition, feed millers purchased 60,000 MT of U.S. corn in the first sale to Bangladesh since 2018, further diversifying its grain imports to meet domestic needs. This report assesses the agricultural biotechnology sector in Belgium for plants, animals, and microorganisms. Belgium's stance on agricultural biotechnology varies by region, with Flanders generally more receptive than Wallonia. Flanders hosts the country's agricultural biotech hub, where much of the research and experimental field trials take place. While Belgium does not commercially cultivate genetically engineered (GE) crops, its livestock sector relies on imported GE commodities for animal feed. Although Belgium did not hold an official position on the European Commission's proposal to regulate plants derived from new genomic techniques (NGTs), it actively promoted its adoption during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to June 2024 and later supported the Polish Presidency's revised proposal in March 2025, which eventually progressed to trilogue negotiations. Israel does not have a policy restricting the use of imported genetically engineered (GE) commodities or their derivative products. However, Israel still restricts the commercial production of GE commodities or their derivative products. Additionally, there have been no changes to Israel's policies on plant, animal, or microbial biotechnology in the past year. On March 8, 2020, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's cabinet of ministers approved the regulation, "Instructions for Handling Food and Food Products Originating from Genetically Modified Substances Produced by Modern Biotechnology for 2018," which was published in Jordan's Official Gazette on April 3, 2020. The regulation supports the free movement and import clearance of food and agricultural products, while protecting consumer choice. However, the measure remains subject to further regulatory development. Jordan must promulgate implementing regulations covering trade in genetically engineered (GE) products, further build its laboratory capacity to sample test living modified organisms (LMOs) at greater scale, as well as develop a notification mechanism to administer its policies. Pakistan is unlikely to import wheat during the current marketing year. MY2026/27 wheat planting has concluded with strong momentum, putting to rest concerns about a significant reduction in wheat planting area, as had been feared after this year's monsoon flooding and policy uncertainty. The government has announced its intent to buy 6.2 million tons of wheat from the farmers at the minimum support price of $312 per ton, reversing its two-year-old policy of not buying wheat from producers. The MY 2025/26 rice production estimate is unchanged at 9.4 million tons, while MY 2025/26 rice exports are projected at 4.8 million tons, about eight percent less than last year. FAS Manila estimates rice production in Marketing Year 2025/26 to decline due to typhoon-related losses and challenging post-harvest conditions in the fourth quarter of 2025, though government support and subsidies continue to encourage planting. Rice consumption remains strong, but imports and ending stocks are forecast to decrease following the extended rice import ban. Post estimates corn production to decline, primarily from typhoon impacts in key regions, while consumption rises on expanding demand from the broiler, layer, pet food, and recovering swine industries. Corn ending stocks are expected to tighten as robust demand and lower import prices reduce stockholding incentives. Wheat consumption is forecast to increase, with higher demand for both milling and feed wheat, resulting in increased wheat imports. This is a regional report on West Africa that primarily covers Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, but also provides brief overviews in certain sections for Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania. Since 2024, Burkina Faso has a technical guideline for regulating genetically engineered and derived products issued from gene editing. Senegal is still in its final stage of approval for the implementing decree that will allow its biosafety law to be functional. In August 2025, the Government of Burkina Faso stopped research on GE mosquito possibly due to a misinformation campaign. Almost all cotton producers in Burkina Faso are in favor of the return of BT cotton. Public perception of agricultural biotechnology in the region tends to be distorted due to disinformation. Future market acceptance will depend on efforts to inform and educate the public about the safety and benefits of agricultural biotechnology. 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, these revisions have not been adopted. Serbia's existing policy on agriculture biotechnology does not conform to European Union (EU) regulations or the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. Asynchronous approvals pose significant trade risks, as South Africa enforces zero tolerance for the unintentional presence of genetically engineered (GE) events in food and feed imports. In 2024, a severe drought sharply reduced South Africa's corn and soybean production, necessitating imports to meet demand. FAS/Pretoria worked closely with industry stakeholders to address asynchronous GE crop approvals between the United States and South Africa. This collaboration facilitated $105 million in U.S. corn and soybeans exports to South Africa—the highest in the 30 years. South Africa's regulatory stance on products developed through genome editing remains unchanged and highly stringent, posing significant challenges to the advancement of innovative biotechnologies in the country. Private sector stakeholders in South Africa continue to push for a risk-proportionate regulatory approach to support the development and adoption of innovative biotechnologies. The biotechnology regulatory system in Ukraine remains underdeveloped. The country is gradually adjusting its domestic policies to align with European Union (EU) regulations. Currently, no genetically engineered (GE) events are officially approved for agricultural and food production, and the Government of Ukraine does not permit the cultivation of GE crops. Therefore, no GE products can be legally imported into Ukraine, restricting trade in some agricultural and food commodities. However, there are reports of unregistered GE production for specific crops. Ukraine adopted a new law on genetic engineering (Law #3339-IX) on August 23, 2023. It will replace the current Biosafety Law in September 2026 and will harmonize procedures of government control over GE circulation in line with Ukraine's obligations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The Ukrainian government is currently developing and adopting implementing regulations. For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/. | 
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