PAKISSAN.com; FAS Daily Attache Report Digest

JAPAN, October 29, 2004 -- Many of Japan's public forestry corporations cannot pay their loans because of decreased timber prices. Their skyrocketing debts, which total about 1.68 trillion yen (over $US 15.7 billion), are causing prefectural governments to question the role of these corporations.

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Annual

GREECE, October 29, 2004 -- Greece imported $40.3 million in field crop seeds in 2003, of which $15.5 million in cotton seed for planting. U.S. genetics accounted for 60% of total planted field crops last year. The total value of all seeds imported was $57.1 million. Greece produces tobacco, sugarbeet, alfalfa and wheat seed domestically, but does not export significant quantities. Opportunities exist for increased imports of corn, durum wheat, alfalfa and other forage plants, tomato and some grass seed blends. The government of Greece tests for adventitious presence (AP) of biotech in conventional seeds, threatening corn seed and cotton seed imports, because of low tolerance for AP.

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Rice Weekly Update

VIETNAM, October 29, 2004 -- Export prices were up around USD6/mt over the previous week period and up about USD10/mt compare with the first week of October. Vietnam export rice prices would continue to firm up in coming time since there is higher demand from Africa, while exportable rice quantity is limited in Vietnam.

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Annual

JAPAN, October 29, 2004 -- Japan's strawberry production, estimated at 205,000 metric tons in 2003, is slowing down due to labor shortage in some regions. Domestic strawberries are mostly sold in the winter and spring, but Hokkaido farmers start harvesting their strawberries in the summer for sale to Japan's confectionary industry. The United States exported 3,900 metric tons of fresh strawberries to Japan in 2003, down 3.8 percent from the previous year. These were valued at $30.34 million (CIF). The California Strawberry Commission's "summer strawberry" campaign very successfully promoted California strawberries in Japan's retail and food service sectors. China is the leader in sales of frozen strawberries to Japan with a 58 percent market share. The United States exported 7,697 metric tons of frozen strawberries to Japan in 2003, down 7.2 percent from the previous year.

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Foreign Sales Corporations (FSC) - EU to suspend U.S. export sanctions

EU-25, October 29, 2004 -- On October 25, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy announced that the EU is to suspend sanctions on a wide range of U.S. exports after President Bush signed a bill repealing the FSC export subsidies.

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Food Business Line Periodic Press Translations from ATO Tokyo

JAPAN, October 29, 2004 -- Ito-Yokado reports a 16 percent increase in ordinary profit; Sukiya, a major beef bowl chain, tries Australian beef; Japan's meat importers look to other sources in order to limit future risks of new Avian Influenza outbreaks; Nisshin Foods Inc. begins selling bread premix in Thailand and; Sumitomo Corporation creates a traceability system for its fish sales to supermarkets.

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