The geopolitical ramifications will reverberate for food processing companies sourcing off-shore ingredients, food producers seeking alternate international markets and growers factoring in increased costs for fertilizer.
The U.S. exported $177 billion of farm and food products to the world in 2021, topping the previous year’s total by 18 per cent. Canada is the third biggest destination after China and Mexico.
What used to be known as GMOs will now be labeled as “bioengineered” foods according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Coming into effect January 1, 2022, the new regulations do away with a patchwork of state labeling regulations.
The American H-2A program broke a record in 2020 with 275,430 workers certified from other countries to work in temporary jobs. This number was up significantly from 258,406 the previous year. Wage rates are also increasing at an average of five per cent across all states for 2022.
