North Africa

For the first time since 2019, the Idaho Wheat Commission hosted trade teams this summer.  Idaho Wheat Executive Director Casey Chumrau said they were very fortunate to welcome back the two teams, one from the Middle East and north Africa, with the 2nd from Peru and Ecuador.  Chumrau...

Efforts to feed the world's growing populations is under more strain than normal right now, partly because of disruptions in food supplies coming out of Ukraine. "We have a twin challenge here," noted USDA head Tom Vilsack. "We've got an immediate global food security challenge by virtue of the disruption that the invasion has caused and the impact it's going to have on unstable, p

The United Nations says the war in Ukraine is already resulting in higher food prices and a shortage of staple crops in central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has severely cut down on shipments from the two countries, which combine to ship 25% of the world’s wheat exports and 16% of global corn exports. ...

The intensity of global food insecurity, indicated by a measure called the food gap, is projected to lessen over the coming decade in the world's poorest regions. The improvement comes amid decreased incomes associated with pandemic-related drops in Gross Domestic Product, according to the Department of Agriculture ...

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service was busy looking for new trade opportunities in 2019.  Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney said the agency fought throughout the year to unlock new export opportunities for U.S. agricul...