U.S. exporters of food processing ingredients should have “many opportunities” in the Malaysian market, which is seeing growth in its food processing industry, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a Sept. 12 report. U.S. exporters of dairy products, fresh and processed potatoes, food-grade soy, processed fruit and juices, and tree nuts should benefit, USDA said, adding that the U.S. was Malaysia’s sixth-largest supplier of agricultural products in 2021.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a Sept. 12 notice laid out instructions for importers who have been awarded allotments but have not yet imported any crude soya beans and crude sunflower oil, including information that must be provided about that to the agency. The notice said quantities not imported by the TRQ licensees by the end of the current import period will be deducted from the proposed allocations during the next period, and failure to provide the requested information will result in "cancellation and reallocation of TRQ to other eligible Importers after" Sept. 20, 2022.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a Sept. 12 notice made a partial modification for applicants to the ANF-4F scheme -- the mechanism for redemption/no bond certificate against advanced authorization. With respect to supplies to either the Export Oriented Units (EOU), Electronics Hardware Technology Park (EHTP), Software Technology Park (STP) or Bio-Technology Park (BTP) schemes, Indian regulators now consider a copy of Form A along with a copy of a tax invoice duly endorsed by the recipient proof of deemed export supplies.

The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo system maintenance Sept. 25 from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., it said Sept. 9. Singapore Customs advises users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to the usual 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday maintenance.

India imposed a 20% export duty on rice (other than parboiled and basmati) in a bid to create more domestic availability, the Indian Ministry of Finance announced Sept. 8. The levy will hit unmilled and husked brown rice along with semi-milled and wholly milled rice. With India accounting for 40% of the global rice trade, the move will further strain countries struggling with food inflation and a growing hunger problem, Bloomberg reported. Rice is the third major agricultural commodity hit with trading restrictions in India this year, with wheat and sugar shipments also curbed. The variety of rice hit with the export tax is around 60% of India's non-basmati rice shipments, B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, said. The move will benefit suppliers from other countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.

China's exports to the U.S. dropped 3.8% in August from a year earlier while its shipments to Russia jumped 26.5%, showing evidence of shifting global trade flows along geopolitical lines, Bloomberg reported. Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed that total Chinese exports rose 7.1% last month from a year earlier -- the slowest pace since April when lockdowns in Shanghai rocked shipping. Bloomberg said the drastic increase in Chinese exports to Russia is due to Chinese companies filling the gap left by Western companies leaving Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Chinese shipments to the EU saw an 11.1% jump, with China supplying more energy-intensive goods that have become more expensive to make in Europe, the report said.

China imposed quarantine requirements for kiwis imported by refrigerated ships from Italy, the General Administration of Customs announced Sept. 7, according to an unofficial translation. China said the imports must be shipped in a separate cabin, and goods shipped to other countries are not to be loaded in the same cabin. The cabin in which the kiwifruit is located shall not be opened before arriving at the Chinese port, and each batch of goods must have sufficient measures to prevent being infected by pests, it said. China's announcement also laid out cold treatment requirements for the shipments along with entry inspection requirements.

China imposed phytosanitary requirements on imports of stevia from Zambia, the General Administration of Customs announced Sept. 5, according to an unofficial translation. The announcement laid out a list of 15 pests that the Chinese government is concerned about, including Septoria steviae and pseudomonas cichorri. The requirements said Zambia should implement quarantine on the stevia before it is shipped to China, and if live insects are found, the goods should be fumigated in warehouses or containers before being exported. A phytosanitary certificate need to be issued as well along with an English statement declaring that the consignment is from a registered processing facility. The announcement said storage warehouses should be "clean and tidy," with the stevia "stored separately."

Singapore Customs arrested a Bangladeshi national and a Singaporean national Sept. 5 for allegedly evading import duties on cigarettes, the agency announced Sept. 7. As part of the operation, it also seized over 3,700 cartons of cigarettes for which duties had not been paid. Singapore Customs officers carried out the operation at an industrial building where they witnessed two men enter the building. After one man exited, the officers checked him, finding 3,744 cartons of cigarettes wrapped in black trash bags along with 288 empty green baskets that were allegedly used as cover for the cigarettes. The agency said the duty and Goods and Services tax evaded by the men totaled $319,370 and $25,440 (in Singapore dollars), respectively. "Investigations are ongoing," the release said.

Vietnam Customs forced a company based in Dong Nai to suspend its import and export practice since the company owed nearly $350,000 in taxes, the state-run CustomsNews reported Sept. 3. Moscow Champagne has owed taxes for many years, and Vietnam Customs has repeatedly requested the company to pay its taxes, CustomsNews said. The decision to suspend import and export operations took effect Aug. 24.