Turkey recently granted its agriculture ministry the authority to restrict exports of 20 agricultural products in an effort to lower domestic food inflation, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a Jan. 28 report. As of the report, USDA said the ministry hasn’t yet limited the exports but could decide to impose the restrictions in the future, “depending on local market conditions.” The authority, which is valid through Dec. 31, could apply to potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemons, various meats, eggs and other foods.
U.S. food and beverage exporters should take advantage of “significant opportunities” to expand their business in the United Arab Emirates, which is experiencing a large expansion to its food processing sector, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Jan. 25. UAE food and beverage processors are “almost entirely dependent” on imported ingredients due to the country’s low production of lightly processed agricultural goods, the agency said, and usually buy raw agricultural materials from foreign suppliers. USDA urged exporters to “study the market to determine if there is potential for their products.” This follows an earlier report on UAE food export opportunities (see 2201120010).
South Africa recently imposed provisional antidumping duties on bone-in chicken meat imports from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and Spain, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Sevice said Jan. 20. The announcement, which took effect this month and will last until June, came after the South African Poultry Association alleged that the meat imports were being dumped on the Southern African Customs Union market, USDA said. The South African International Trade Administration Commission will issue final antidumping duties when the provisional duties expire in June. The country now imposes antidumping duties on bone-in chicken imports from nine countries, including the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Kenya Railways recently decreased cargo tariffs for goods traveling from Mombasa to Malaba, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 24. The corporation also lowered tariffs from $1,200 to $800 for one 50‑foot container, the report said. The tariff cuts were announced as Kenya Railways began a two-month trial for transporting goods from the port of Mombasa to the inland depot at Malaba, HKTDC said, which is expected to reduce the usual transit time from four days to 28 hours.
The Navy detained a stateless fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman, finding urea fertilizer used to make explosives, the Navy said in a Jan. 23 news release. The ship was detained as it was traveling from Iran along a path traditionally used to ship weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Navy said. Following a search of the vessel, the Navy discovered 40 tons of urea fertilizer, a chemical compound with dual uses as an agricultural and explosives component. The Navy had previously detained the ship in February 2021 and confiscated weapons on board bound for Yemen. This time, after the Navy detained the ship, it transferred the vessel, its cargo and five Yemeni crew members to Yemen Coast Guard officials, the release said.
U.S. exporters of high-quality and luxury food goods are expected to see increasing demand and opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said Jan. 11. UAE consumers continue to rely “heavily’ on imports to meet their food needs and are increasingly shifting toward healthier and environmentally conscious food alternatives, USDA said, which is expected to benefit U.S. exporters. “The United States is well known for having high-quality products, giving it an advantage for consumer demand throughout the country,” the agency said. “U.S. products will increasingly align with UAE preferences and the United States will easily become a partner of choice for the United Arab Emirates consumer.” USDA said U.S. exporters of dairy products, fresh fruit, tree nuts, chocolate, vegetables and baked goods could see market growth in the UAE.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative is seeking applicants for the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa for the four-year term that begins in March. Applicants should have knowledge on U.S-Africa trade, including under the African Growth and Opportunity Act; the government is interested in hearing from people with expertise in trade facilitation; sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures and technical barriers to trade; trade capacity building; constraints to trade; investment treaty negotiations; and implementation of World Trade Organization agreements. Applicants can be from industry or services businesses, organized labor, agriculture, non-profit development organizations or academia. Members who are selected will advise USTR on negotiating objectives, the impact of trade agreements, and fulfilling the objectives of AGOA. USTR is seeking to have a diverse committee, not just by demographics, but also by region of the country, the size of the organization the member represents, sectors and points of view.
Kenya recently announced tariff exemptions for imports of non-genetically modified feed ingredients due to rising domestic feed costs, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said Dec. 27. The exemptions, issued Dec. 10 and valid until Oct. 31, 2022, were granted to 18 Kenyan millers for yellow maize, soy meal, soybeans, cottonseed cake, sunflower seed, white sorghum and fish meal. Each miller was issued “product-specific quotas” for duty-free importation, USDA said. The agency said Kenya is “suffering from a dramatic increase in feed prices” caused by an ingredient shortage, but “local sources” don’t expect the tariff exemptions to lower prices because of the “limited” global supply of non-GM feed ingredients.
Kuwait recently banned commercial ships carrying goods to and from Israel, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Dec 15. Under the ban, which took effect Dec. 4, Kuwait will deny entry to all vessels trading with Israel -- even vessels that transport goods from Israel to a third country, the report said. Kuwait already bans imports or exchanges of goods with Israel.
An e-commerce platform that will allow traders to more easily import goods from the Middle East and East Africa was launched in Kenya recently, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Nov. 19. The platform will provide a “trading gateway” into Africa through the eight port terminals operated by DP World and will promote trade in “areas including technology, blue economy, transportation, aviation, manufacturing, mining, healthcare and employment,” the report said. The platform was successfully launched in Rwanda earlier this year and received more than 500,000 website visits from African sellers and buyers, HKTDC said.