GAIN Reports from Tuesday, October 6, 2020

The following Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) reports were released on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.     Brazil: Oilseeds and Products Update Post maintains its forecast for soybean planted area at 38.5 million hectares (ha) for 2020/21, up from 36.9 million ha in 2019/20. Despite a drier than average start to planting, Post forecasts a record harvest at 131 million metric tons (MMT). Area expansion is expected based on unprecedented domestic soybean prices. Post revised up the production estimate for the 2019/20 season to 125.6 MMT. Soybean exports in 2020/21 are forecast at 85 MMT, up from 2019/20 exports estimated at 82 MMT. Due to the export boom, Post expects a significant uptick in imports, forecast at 500,000 MT for 2020/21, after an estimated 900,000 MT to be sourced in the current season by Brazil's crush industry. For the 2020/21 MY, Post revised the soybean processing forecast up to 45.5 MMT based on available supply. The crush estimate for 2019/20 is unchanged at 44 MMT, constrained by the scarcity of beans on the domestic market.  Brazil: Sugar Semi-annual   Brazil's MY 2020/21 sugarcane crush has been revised upward to 655 million metric tons (mmt), due to overall favorable weather conditions in the north-northeastern growing region. In addition, the COVID19 pandemic and social distance measures have negatively impacted people and goods' transportation, reducing fuel consumption. Therefore, sugar-ethanol plants have diverted more sugarcane towards sugar production (47.5 percent of the total cane crushing). Total sugar exports for MY 2020/21 are estimated at 32.02 mmt, raw value, the highest export volume ever for Brazil. Brazilian sugar exports to China during the May-August 2020 period reached 1.99 mmt, almost reaching pre-safeguard levels of over 2.5 mmt. On September 11, Brazil decided to maintain a pro-rata tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for ethanol of 187.5 million liters for 90 days. On September 21, the United States granted an additional 80,000 metric tons TRQ for exporting sugar to the U.S. market without paying taxes. Dominican Republic: Sugar Semi-annual   For Marketing Year October 2020/September 2021 (MY 2020/21), Post forecasts overall sugar production to increase to 610,000 metric tons (MT) due to favorable weather conditions. During MY 2019/20, total sugar production reached 592,748 MT, a 9 percent increase from MY 2018/19 due to favorable rainfall patterns that improved agricultural yields. For MY 2020/21, Post forecasts exports of raw cane sugar at 190,000 MT. Since the United States is currently the only major export market for Dominican Republic (DR) sugar, this volume is similar to the DR's country allocation for the U.S. tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021). During MY 2020/21, Post forecasts imports will slightly decrease to 10,000 MT. India: COVID-19 in India - Weekly Port Situation Update   Weekly report as of October 1, 2020, of COVID-19 impact on Indian port operations. India: Draft Amendments on Labeling for Packaged Foods Containing Sweeteners   On September 18, 2020, India notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a draft regulation related to new labeling requirements for packaged foods containing sweeteners. The deadline to provide comments is December 1, 2020.  India: Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional   The outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting nationwide lockdown has significantly impacted the Indian food service sector. The industry has suffered a major setback in last six months and will require time to recover from unprecedented losses. Falling occupancy rates, limited restaurant operations, travel cancellations, and a decline in social events/gatherings are just a few of the challenges the sector is traversing as a result of the pandemic. Despite slashed revenues, job cuts, and high maintenance costs, sources forecast that the sector will begin to recover next year. India: Government of India Passes Agriculture Market Reforms as Opposition and Regional Parties Protest On September 20, the Rajya Sabha (upper house) passed two farm bills amid significant protests, and a third bill passed on September 22 following opposition boycott. The legislation remains intact from the ordinances previously unveiled on June 3, 2020, which intends to unshackle existing marketing restrictions, remove certain agricultural domestic trade barriers, and improve market certainty for farmers. The Government of India (GOI) has claimed the farm bills will transform Indian agriculture and attract private investment. While many initially welcomed the ordinances, significant opposition remains, alleging that the reforms are anti-farmer (or pro capitalist), and that private sector monopolies will emerge to exploit Indian farmers. Amid protests, key opposition-ruled states have said they might not implement the new farm bills, with intentions to challenge them in the Supreme Court. Mexico: Mexico Announces Changes to its Milk Powder Import Procedures   On September 28, 2020, Mexico notified the World Trade Organization (WTO), via symbol G/TBT/N/MEX/477, changes to import procedures for milk powder products listed under Harmonized System (HS) Codes 0402.10.01 and 0402.21.01 whose importation into Mexico is subject to compliance with "NOM-222-SCFI/SAGARPA-2018, Milk powder or dehydrated milk - Raw material - Specifications, commercial information and test methods". Notably, the changes would establish a new process for the transmission of information from registered laboratories to the competent Mexican authority before the import is cleared at Customs, causing potential delays. Affected milk powder importers in Mexico and milk powder exporters to Mexico should submit comments regarding G/TBT/N/MEX/477 to the WTO and/or to Mexico's Directorate General for Norms (DGN) before Thursday, November 26, 2020. Mexico: Modifications to the Mexican Foreign Trade Law Removes Prior Exemptions to Front-of-Package Labeling On October 1, 2020 Mexico modified its Foreign Trade Law Agreement to comply with its new Frontof-Package Labeling (FOPL) law that also went into effect on October 1. The modifications require shipments of food products previously exempted from labeling to immediately comply with the new labeling law by removing exemptions for: imported goods that would not be sold to the public in the form in which they were imported; imported goods to be used directly by a company not subject to commercialization; products destined to remain in the border area or regions of Mexico; and products imported by those who carry out marketing activities and provides restaurant, hotel, leisure, cultural, recreational, sports, educational services, research, medical and social assistance. All products within those categories—including foodservice products—must now comply with the new labeling standard.  Singapore: Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional  Singapore has a highly developed and competitive hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) industry that is traditionally fueled by robust tourism and consumer spending. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing travel/movement restrictions, the HRI sector is currently experiencing a major drop in business. As there is minimal local agricultural production, the country's HRI sector is highly dependent on imports for its food and beverage requirements. In 2019, the country's tourist receipts topped $20.5 billion USD, of which $2 billion USD was derived from food and beverage sales. Top U.S. product prospects for the Singaporean HRI industry include dairy, fresh & processed fruit, pork, poultry, and snack foods. Turkey: Oilseeds and Products Update Turkey's Marketing Year (MY) 2020/21 sunflowerseed area and production is estimated at 720,000 hectares and 1.56 million MT (MMT). Turkey's strong demand drove continued imports of sunflowerseed and products. Accordingly, during the first eleven months (Sept-July) of MY 2019/20, oilseed sunflowerseed imports were 1.1 MMT, and sunflowerseed meal imports were about 980,000 MT. Turkey's sunflowerseed oil imports and exports went up significantly in MY 2019/20 due to increasing activity in refining and re-exporting which will probably continue in MY 2020/21.  Turkey: Sugar Semi-annual   Turkey's sugar beet production is forecast at 19 MMT in MY 2020/21 and is expected to result in 2.75 MMT of sugar. Drought weather conditions during summer caused yield and quality losses in sugar beets in some regions. For MY 2020/21, as announced by Presidential Decree on December 25, 2019, the annual quota is identical to the amount allocated last year. Vietnam: Vietnam Issues Decree Regulating Timber Legality Assurance System This report provides an unofficial translation of Decree 102/2020/ND-CP regulating the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS), issued on September 01, 2020. Decree 102/2020 stipulates regulations for importing and exporting timber following a risk-based approach. This Decree will enter into force on October 30, 2020.   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