CHILE, June 4, 2004 -- Chile's tomato paste industry reduced exports in the last quarter of CY2003 in an effort to take advantage of an expected export price increase as a result of a significant fall in tomato production in Italy.

BAHRAIN, June 4, 2004 -- Updated on May 31, 2004. Sections Updated: All. Bahrain is in the process of revising its food labeling and shelf life regulations to bring them into conformance with Codex Alimentarius standards. Bahrain presently applies Gulf Standard 150/93, Part I for product shelf life and does require Arabic-language labels or stickers for packaged food products. Import policies are viewed as liberal, with no quotas or major non-tariff barriers to speak of. Import duties are now unified across the GCC states at 5 percent on practically all processed food products. Live animals, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, grains, flours, tea, sugar, spices and seeds for planting are exempt from any import duty.

VIETNAM, June 4, 2004 -- Vietnam's Ordinances on plant varieties and livestock breeds will be effective from July 1, 2004

VIETNAM, June 4, 2004 -- Vietnam's export prices were down by $3-4/mt in an attempt to compete with the low prices present in regional markets.

CHINA, PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF, June 4, 2004 -- China's tobacco production forecast is consistent with recent years. Data for imports of unmanufactured tobacco in 2002 and 2003 have been corrected to reflect current Chinese Customs data.

SPAIN, June 4, 2004 -- Cotton use has declined dramatically due to reduced mill activity and lower share in the fiber usage. Despite Spanish textile competitiveness in export markets, textile imports continue to outgrow exports. A new reform of the cotton regime, which will come into force in 2006, is expected to substantially reduce domestic cotton production.

THAILAND, June 4, 2004 -- Export prices increased slightly after the several week-long slowdown.

HONDURAS, June 4, 2004 -- The sugar industry in Honduras has in recent years been investing in infrastructure and equipment, thus increasing refining capacity and improving efficiency. However in 2003, sugarcane production decreased by 9 percent due to drought conditions in the south and central areas of Honduras. Sugar mills are working at 90 percent of their productive capacity.

EU-25, June 4, 2004 -- This weekly report contains data on rice prices in the U.S., Thailand and the EU. It also lists current import duties and export subsidies in the EU. All information will be published as such in the USDA publication "Rice Market News".

SOUTH AFRICA, REPUBLIC OF, June 4, 2004 -- South Africa's oilseed production, mainly based on sunflowers and a smaller soybean crop, amounted to 840,000 tons for the crops planted in 2002 and 835,000 tons for the crops planted in 2003. This was insufficient for local needs and 443,000 tons of soybean meal and 127,000 tons of oil were imported in 2003. A similar scenario is expected in 2004.

ROMANIA, June 4, 2004 -- In May 2004, Romania and European Union reached consent on further trade liberalization. This is expected to create better opportunities for Romanian exporters, provided that they are able to adapt themselves and become competitive. For US exporters, the new agreement will limit opportunities for poultry, pork and beef, in favor of EU-origin exports.