GAIN Reports from Thursday, August 6, 2020

The following Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) reports were released on Thursday, August 6, 2020.      Belgium: EU Approves Belgian EUR35 Million Aid for Potato and Flower Sector   On July 27, the EU approved €35 million in COVID-19 emergency aid for two of Flanders most heavily affected sectors. Flemish Minister for Agriculture Hilde Crevits has secured €25 million for the Flemish horticultural sector, while Flemish potato growers will receive €10 million in emergency aid.   South Africa: Raisin Annual Post forecasts that raisin production will increase by 10 percent to 88,000 Metric Tons (MT) in the 2020/21 MY, based on normal weather conditions, growth in area planted, new orchards coming into full production, improvement in yields, wine grapes being diverted for raisin production, sufficient availability of irrigation water, and minimal hail/rain damage. Investment in increasing processing capacity is now critical given the continued growth in production and that some processors are already operating at 97 percent capacity. The United States was the third largest market for South African raisin exports accounting for 9 percent of the total export market share in 2019. South African raisin exports enjoy duty free access to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).   For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/.     Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This service is provided to you at no charge by USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. This email was sent to stevenmagallanes520.nims@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service · 1400 Independence Avenue, SW · Washington, DC 20250