South and Central Asia

On April 27, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified on its website the Direction SS-T007/1/2023-Standard-FSSAI.

During a national oilseeds conference, industry representatives noted that domestic oilseed production increased from 2.5 million hectares in 2020 to 3.4. million hectares in 2022, and they further expect production to reach 5 million hectares by 2027.

On May 17, 2023 the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture published a special regulatory order amending the Plant Quarantine Rules 2018, thereby allowing the importation of U.S. cotton into Bangladesh without fumigation on-arrival.

For FY 2023, USDA anticipates awarding up to $224 million in new McGovern-Dole cooperative agreements. USDA has identified the following as priority countries for FY 2023: Cameroon, Haiti, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and Togo.

FAS is awarding $300,000 to six U.S. universities – including three minority-serving institutions – for research and educational partnerships focused on climate-smart agriculture in tropical countries.