| The following GAIN reports were released on January 23, 2025. _______
Post maintains Algeria's cereal planted area and production forecast and estimates. For the coming 2025/26 crop season, satellite images highlight dryness concerns similar to the conditions experienced in recent years. Trade forecast remains elevated as the Algerian Office of Cereals (OAIC) intensifies purchases on international markets. This GAIN-INDIA report updates FAS New Delhi's (Post) GAIN-INDIA|IN2021-0042|India- Requirement of a Certificate of Non-Genetically Modified and GM-Free Status for Apple Consignments – A Workaround Solution. Effective March 1, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare\Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) required a certificate for Non-Genetically Modified (GM) and GM-Free status for all apples, all origins being imported into the country. The certificate, as per the FSSAI notification, shall be issued by an authorized regional (i.e., state level) government authority of the exporting country in the FSSAI specified format. This report serves as an update to FAS Jakarta's previous report outlining Indonesia's plans to impose a 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) for luxury agricultural products (please see GAIN Report ID2024-0053). This would have been a significant change, since agricultural products had not previously been subject to any VAT. Through an official press conference on December 31, 2024, President Prabowo Subianto announced a reversal which effectively means there will be no changes to VAT applications for agricultural goods, although the VAT for certain processed food products previously taxed at 11 percent will remain in place at that rate. Fresh agricultural products that were not previously subject to any VAT will remain exempt. On November 18, 2024, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) issued Regulation No. 19/2024 on the Supervision of Genetically Engineered Food which updates the labeling requirements for genetically engineered (GE) products, and regulates microbial biotechnology, genome editing, and the food safety assessment of products with stacked genes. Specifically, the GOI plans to enforce an existing requirement for processed food products containing at least five percent GE material to be labeled accordingly. This may have little impact on U.S. GE product exports to Indonesia, currently valued at over $2.1 billion, since fresh GE products (e.g., soybeans) and those which have been refined and no longer contain GE DNA/proteins are exempt. To date, no processed food products containing five percent GE materials have been registered with the GOI, and so FAS Jakarta is not aware of any products in commerce in Indonesia that are required to be labeled in accordance with this new regulation. The outlook for Mexican grain production in marketing year (MY) 2024/2025 is lower for corn, wheat, and sorghum. Prolonged drought conditions, low prices, and limited support policies are expected to drive down production. Rice production is forecast higher due to above average precipitation in rice producing areas in the Gulf states. Mexico's corn, wheat, and rice imports are estimated higher due to estimated lower-than-average production. Meanwhile, sorghum imports are forecast lower due to increased preference for corn use in the animal feed industry. Production and trade forecasts were revised based on updated planting, harvest, and trade data. The Government of Morocco continues to subsidize bread wheat imports based on a fixed flat-rate premium. This measure is valid until April 30, 2025, and is intended to maintain low bread prices and encourage stock building. Post has no changes for production, supply, and demand estimates for MY 2024/2025. On December 25, 2024, Türkiye unexpectedly increased the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on distilled spirits by 12.5 percent, excluding domestically produced raki. This irregular hike, outside the usual biannual adjustments, mainly targeted imported spirits. On January 3, 2025, an automatic SCT increase of 7.56 percent was triggered by the domestic Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation, compounding the total tax increase over a two-week period to 21 percent for most imported distilled spirits, while raki saw only the 7.56 percent rise. U.S.-origin hard liquors face an additional 70 percent retaliatory tariff, further burdening U.S. exporters and Turkish consumers. High SCT rates have led to increased consumption of illegal, counterfeit alcoholic beverages, posing health risks and causing several deaths recently. Critics argue that the government uses the SCT to attempt to influence consumer behavior, though there has been little impact to alcohol consumption rates in Türkiye. For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/. | 
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