Egypt could be facing a significant drop in its wheat imports since two of its largest suppliers, Ukraine and Russia, are at war. According to a report from the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, wheat imports into Egypt could drop by 8.3% from marketing year 2021/22, to 11 million tons for the marketing year 2022-23 starting in July -- the lowest rate in nine years. Over the past five years, Egypt bought more than 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine due to relatively fast shipping times and low prices. "The war between Russia and Ukraine is potentially aggravating already unsettled supply chains and causing major disruptions of wheat supplies to import destinations in the Middle East and North Africa region," the report said. "Egypt is not isolated from these catastrophic events, which is already affecting its imports of wheat from both countries."

Morocco and Israel recently signed a trade and investment cooperation agreement that includes temporary customs exemptions and establishes a new “trade relations” framework, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 3. The deal seeks to provide traders with benefits in several “high potential sectors,” including the automotive, energy, aerospace and medical device industries, HKTDC said. The two countries will also hold joint trade fairs to further promote trade.

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority announced March 1 that it will increase transit fees by up to 10% for ships passing through the key trade route. Transit fees for liquid petroleum gas, chemical tankers and other liquid bulk tankers will rise 10%, Bloomberg reported. Ships carrying vehicles, natural gas and general cargo along with multipurpose vessels will have their transit fees increased by 7%, and oil and crude tankers and dry bulk carriers will see a 5% fee increase, the SCA said. The changes come amid a "significant growth in global trade" and the canal's "development and enhancement of the transit service." The increases could be later revised or shed completely, based on the state of global shipping, Bloomberg reported.

The African Continental Free Trade Area recently agreed to rules of origin for the trading bloc, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Feb. 14. The agreed rules set new requirements for about 87.7% of the goods -- about 3,800 tariff lines -- covered under AfCTA, the report said, clearing a hurdle that has hindered the group since it began trading last year. Before the rules were agreed to in January, trade had been “very slow” under the agreement, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a range of other nontariff barriers (see 2108180020).

Israel's Ministry of Justice released proposed amendments to the nation's 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law that would allow the defense minister to independently add people to its "terrorist operatives" sanctions regime if those additions are based on designations made by "competent foreign sanctions authorities." According to an unofficial translation, the proposed amendment also allows for the implementation of U.N. terrorist sanctions on Israeli citizens, as the current law does not permit such designations. The deadline for comments on the proposed changes is Feb. 6.

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).

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.

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.