China's General Administration of Customs imposed phytosanitary requirements for imports of fresh avocados from Kenya, the agency announced, according to an unofficial translation. The requirements say avocado orchards that ship their goods to China must be registered by the National Plant Health Supervision Bureau and approved for registration by the General Administration of Customs. Such registration information includes the orchard's name, address and identification code to allow for the accurate tracing of the goods' origin information.

USDA on June 2 published a “simplified description” of facility registration requirements under China’s customs Decree 248 along with a set of frequently asked questions. The report also includes an updated list of commodities covered under Decree 248, which introduced and revised requirements for certain foreign exporter facilities registrations (see 2112030007). The scope of Decree 248 has so far been mostly unclear despite “repeated U.S. requests for clarification” (see 2204010027).

Nepal recently imposed a temporary ban on certain luxury imports, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 2. The ban, which will remain in effect until mid-July, applies to certain automobiles, tobacco products, alcohol, diamonds, certain TV sets, snacks, and mobile phones worth more than $600, the report said. Emergency vehicles, including ambulances, are exempted from the import ban.

Fiji's Supreme Court delayed a U.S. bid to seize a $325 million superyacht allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian billionaire, granting the yacht's registered owner, Millemarin Investments, a temporary stay on a previous ruling that would have allowed the U.S. to seize the ship this week, according to documents from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Bloomberg reported June 2.

China issued a response to a recent speech by Secretary of State Antony Blinken announcing the U.S. strategy in its China dealings as being to "invest, align and compete." A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that the U.S. should not kick-start a new identity based on China as a shared enemy and that, while there will inevitably be competition between the world's two largest economies, the relationship cannot be "defined by competition." The spokesperson then shifted to attack the use of U.S. sanctions, decrying the use of national security as a guise for imposing the sanctions and the restrictions' impact on supply chains. "This is not responsible competition, but rather unscrupulous suppression and containment," the spokesperson said. "If the US insists on defining China-US relations by major power competition and pursuing 'I win you lose' policy objectives, it will only push the two countries to confrontation and conflict and lead the world to division and turmoil."

Indonesia ended its export ban on palm oil less than four weeks after it began, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 1. The ban was originally put in place to reduce the domestic price of bulk cooking oil and ensure supply (see 2205110014), but the country now has more than enough cooking oil despite some still high prices, the report said. The ban had applied to crude palm oil and certain derivative products, the report said, and had caused global palm oil prices to jump by more than 200%.

India recently announced new restrictions on sugar exports, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report May 26. The change, which took effect June 1, moved Indian exports of raw, refined and white sugar into the country’s “restricted” category, the agency said. The products now require “special permission” from the government before they can be exported, USDA said, but added that the restrictions don’t apply to exports to the U.S. or the EU “falling under CXL and tariff-rate quotas.”

China imposed inspection and quarantine requirements on imports of Cambodian aquaculture products, the General Administration of Customs announced May 30, according to an unofficial translation. The new protocols, which apply to artificially farmed aquatic animal products for human consumption and algae and other marine plant products, require that imports be farmed in Cambodia's own waters and not contain any drugs or additives banned by China.

China banned the import of pigs, wild boars and their products from Nepal, in a May 27 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The General Administration of Customs announced the decision after Nepal reported cases of African swine fever on six farms in its Bagmati province during March and April to the World Organization for Animal Health. China customs said it will return or destroy any pigs, wild boars or their products that are found.

Singapore Customs updated procedures for receiving duty exemptions and Goods and Services Tax relief for up to three bottles of wine per label per day for wine exhibitions and conference events. The qualified exhibitor now must be registered with Singapore Customs, and the Place of Receipt to be declared is "EXEMPTW" instead of "EXEMPT." Also, claimants must register their information with Singapore Customs and secure an import license from the Singapore Food Agency. The list of approved wines also has been updated.