South and Central Asia

India is the world’s second largest social media user base and provides significant opportunities to market U.S. foods and ingredients. From November 24 through December 31, 2022, the Foreign Agricultural Service in New Delhi (FAS New Delhi) conducted an online promotional activity with Indian Chef Deeba Rajpal to generate enthusiasm and demand for U.S. baking ingredients during the holiday season in India.

This is a biweekly report outlining the prices of agricultural commodities in Bangladesh, as well as major trade and policy updates.

On January 17, 2023, the Indian government issued Notification No. 25/2022-23) proposing draft guidelines to streamline the halal certification process for export of meat and meat products from India.

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.