SAUDI ARABIA, August 2, 2004 -- Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) is responsible for setting national standards for commodities and products. The Ministry of Commerce does testing of prepackaged foodstuffs. The following report contains key regulations and standards applied to imported food products in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is US$5 billion market for food and agricultural products with the U.S. share estimated at about 10 percent.

CHINA, PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF, August 2, 2004 -- On July 19, 2004, AQSIQ Minister Li announced the creation of the Chinese National Academy of Inspection and Quarantine. During July the Ministry of Agriculture also created a new Animal Health Veterinary Services Department.

VIETNAM, August 2, 2004 -- Vietnam's domestic cotton production has increased, but not achieved the ambitious target set by the Vietnamese Government. The Government had hoped domestic production would quickly reach 10 percent of consumption; however that goal still looks several years away. Vietnam annually imports more than 90,000 metric tons of cotton. The United States has been the leading cotton supplier to Vietnam over the last three consecutive years. This report includes production, supply and distribution tables.

SAUDI ARABIA, August 2, 2004 -- In early June this year, the Saudi Government issued a decree to fix the government subsidy on imported barley to Saudi Riyals (SR) 150 or $40 per metric ton (mt) regardless of international barley prices. The decision has allowed importers to adjust their wholesale/retail prices based on their cost and competition factors.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, August 2, 2004 -- The wheat harvest is almost completed in Bosnia and Herzegovina with total production estimated at 250,000 MT. Total consumption is around 650,000 MT. BiH is a regular importer of wheat with annual imports around 350,000 to 400,000 MT. Most wheat imports are supplied by neighboring countries (e.g Hungary, Czech Republic and Croatia). However, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France and Uruguay supplied wheat last marketing year. This year's corn area is around 225,000 ha. Crop conditions are good at present, and production is estimated to be around 800,000 MT to 900,000 MT.

AUSTRIA, August 2, 2004 -- Austrian food legislation consists of the food law, ordinances to the food law, meat regulations, pesticide regulations, and the food codex. It is largely adjusted to conform with EU regulations. Austrian food regulations are valid for products produced in Austria and imported products. However, Austria is obliged to allow entry to products permitted in other countries of the European Economic Area. The new EU traceability and labeling regulations brought major changes in labeling regulations for GMO food and feed. Last Updated July 2004: Sections I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, Appendix I, Appendix II updated.

GERMANY, August 2, 2004 -- Germany decided to take full advantage of the considerable flexibility the EU CAP reform offers to the member states. For most commodities, Germany will decouple subsidies from actual production as extensively as possible. Full implementation of a single per hectare subsidy payment per region is to be achieved by January 1, 2013