TAIWAN, June 15, 2004 -- Taiwan produces 17,000 metric tons of sorghum and imports 40,000 metric tons for feed and brewing use. Sorghum primarily comes from China, Thailand and Australia. U.S. exports to Taiwan have only totaled 918 metric tons in the past five years. Future changes in imports will depend on price movements of sorghum relative to corn.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION, June 15, 2004 -- Government actions to decrease import market access and high grain prices have forced prices for meat higher in the Russian Federation over the past year. The single biggest factor was the intoduction of a quota on poultry meat and tariff rate quotas (TRQ) on beef and pork. Additionally, poor implementation of these measures has caused price swings due to traders' uncertainty about their ability to cope effectively with unanticipated events. Expectations of another average feed grain crop coupled with low world grain stocks will likely bring no relief from high feed costs.

CHINA, PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF, June 15, 2004 -- China's continued rapid economic growth and heavy investment in transportation infrastructure have advanced Shanghai's position as a regional trade and finance center. Beyond the importance of Shanghai's 20 million trend-setting consumers, the city also serves as the entry point for the large number of growing cities along the coast and deep into the interior.

PHILIPPINES, June 15, 2004 -- The expanding Philippine population coupled with the country's shrinking farm area compels the GRP to produce more on less land. As a result, the GRP is aggressively promoting the use of high yielding rice and corn seeds of which imports are likely to decline in MY03/04 relative to the previous year as local production is expected to increase during the period. Imports of other planting seeds are also expected to decline in MY03/04 due to weak demand and renewed weakness of the Peso. Beyond MY03/04, investment in agriculture and imports of high yielding planting seeds, including those derived from modern biotechnology, are expected to increase due to the extension of tax incentives and the mandated funding support of the GRP's agricultural modernization program.

TAIWAN, June 15, 2004 -- On June 10th, Taiwan awarded its 2nd public rice tender of 2004. The first and second tranches of the tender for 10,000 tons each of medium brown rice went to a U.S. supplier at $337/mt while the 1,700 ton tranche for long brown grain rice went to a Thai supplier at $370/mt. The 3rd rice tender for 20,000 tons is scheduled for July. As of June 10, Taiwan has tendered for 28,850 tons of medium brown grain, all supplied by the United States, while Thailand has supplied 3,000 tons of long grain milled glutinous rice and 1,700 tons of long brown rice.

INDIA, June 15, 2004 -- *India to harden stance at WTO*, *Biotech: India right on track*, *No grain exports at the cost of food security: Food Minister*, *Re-thinking on Bilateral Trade Pacts*, *Food Bazaar engages Hind Lever in battle*.

BURMA, June 15, 2004 -- Burma exported 139,895 metric tons of beans and pulses in May, an increase of 171 percent over the same month last year. China continues to be the second major buyer of Burma's beans and pulses, after India. It was learned that garden peas imported into China from Canada are being re-exported to Burma as border trade.

GREECE, June 15, 2004 -- Fresh tomato production for the processing sector rose in Greece in 2003/04 and is forecast to continue expanding in 2004/05, although it will likely not completely fill the EU allowable national quota for processing tomatoes. Exports of canned tomatoes were up in 2003/04, however poorer quality negatively impacted tomato paste exports. In the coming year, 2004/05 exports of both of these processed products are expected to expand due to good harvest prospects. Domestic consumption of tomato products is forecast to increase sharply in 2004/05 due to the influx of millions of tourists attending the Athens Summer Olympics in August 2004 and visiting Greece in the year to follow.

MEXICO, June 15, 2004 -- On May 25, 2003 the Mexican Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) announced in the Diario Oficial (Mexico's Federal Register) that the emergency phytosanitary standard to regulate Mexican solid wood products used as packaging material (NOM-EM-144-SEMARNAT-2003) will be valid for an additional six months, starting on May 27, 2004.

CHILE, June 15, 2004 -- A smaller but excellent quality wine production is expected in 2004, with another expansion in exports. Wine producers expect to increase both foreign and domestic sales as a result of a second year in a row of good quality production. Fewer table grapes will be used in wine production, as larger amounts of grapes for premium wine become more available.

CANADA, June 15, 2004 -- * Financial Compensation Announced for B.C. Poultry Industry Impacted by Avian Influenza * CFIA Suspends B.C. Poultry Depopulation Program * R-CALF Says USDA Surveillance Plan Should Target Canadian Origin Cattle * Southern Ontario Plant Plans to Process Cull Cows * NAFTA Panel Rules on Lumber Duties * Saskatchewan Crop Conditions * Manitoba Crop Update * Corn Production Predicted to Drop * Canadian Agriculture Income Stabilization Program Amendments Now in Place

PERU, June 15, 2004 -- Asparagus production is expected to reach 190,000 MT in CY 2004, increasing 1.5 percent compared to the previous year. With exports of $206 million, asparagus became the lead agricultural export in CY 2003.

ARGENTINA, June 15, 2004 -- The excellent grape crop of calendar year (CY) 2004, in terms of both quantity and quality, is similar to those of the previous two harvests. The outlook for the wine industry for CY 2004 is bright, since exports and domestic consumption of high quality wines are forecast to continue to increase and international prices are expected to be higher than in CY 2003. Imports are still being discouraged buy the devalued currency, which makes purchases viable only on exceptional bases.