Trump Signs Sweeping Executive Order Revamping US Tariff Rates; 15% Floor for Deficit Nations

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 31, unveiling a massive overhaul of US tariff policy, introducing a series of new import rates for US trading partners (find the full rate list below).

Under the new plan, countries with which the US has a trade deficit will face a minimum 15% tariff, affecting more than 30 nations. Meanwhile, the administration’s existing 10% “universal” tariff will remain in place for countries where US exports exceed imports...

PODCAST: Agri-Food for Thought Ep. 32 - M&A in the Global Agri-Food Industry, July 2025 Overview

Expana presents Agri-Food for Thought, the podcast series for agriculture and food professionals.Today, we bring you up to speed with merger & acquisition activity in the global agrifood landscape that occurred in July 2025 as part of the monthly M&A focus series.

July 2025 M&A activity somewhat slowed down compared to previous months. The ongoing tariffs situation, the global focus on trade deals, other trade disputes, and market uncertainty, have a role to play here

Triple Typhoon Impact Disrupts Southeast Asian Agricultural and Aquaculture Supply Chains

A rare convergence of three powerful typhoons in July has battered key agricultural and aquaculture regions across China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Typhoons Wipha, Danas, and Co-May have collectively caused hundreds of millions in damages.  

Typhoon Wipha Deals Blow to Vietnam’s Rice and Shrimp Exports 

Typhoon Wipha formed on July 18 near the northern Philippines and intensified to Category 1 before making landfall in Guangzhou, China, and later striking northern Vietnam. Wipha lashed southern China with winds up to 75 mph, triggering floods and landslides

Farming at Risk After Two Storms Slam Northern Japan; No Expected Impact from Recent Tsunami

Two tropical storms struck northern Japan in quick succession this July, marking an unusually early and intense start to the region’s storm season and raising concerns about disruptions to agricultural production, aquaculture, and regional logistics.  

Tropical Storm Nari, which formed over the North Pacific Ocean on July 11, intensified to tropical storm status by July 13, with wind speeds reaching up to 60 mph. The storm made landfall near the southern tip of Hokkaido on July 14

White House Unveils 40% Additional Tariffs on Brazilian Imports; Orange Juice, Nuts Spared

On the afternoon of July 30, Brazil was assigned an additional 40% tariff rate, according to a White House statement. US President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) which will add to the current baseline 10% tariff on foreign good imported to the US. However, Trump teased upping that rate for ~200 countries where a trade deal would not make sense to negotiate. For now, it’s clear that 40% is in addition to any currently applicable US tariff...

Tsunami Alerts Disrupt Chilean Salmon Operations as Companies Implement Safety Measures

The Chilean Salmon Council (Consejo del Salmón) announced that its member companies activated emergency safety protocols immediately after tsunami warnings were issued by Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) on July 30, according to local media sources.

Evacuation and emergency measures were swiftly implemented at all company cultivation sites, processing plants, and offices in line with Senapred instructions. The Council’s membership includes several of Chile’s largest salmon producers, such as AquaChile, Australis Seafoods, Cermaq, Mowi, and Salmones Aysén.

On July 30, Chile raised...

BOEM Rescinds Designated Wind Energy Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf

After a tumultuous few years of the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management and offshore wind production steamrolling the seafood industry, the new presidential administration is fast-tracking big changes.  

That is, changes meaning a near-grinding halt.  

President Trump, on Jan. 20, published a memorandum, Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the OCS from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects. On Wednesday, BOEM announced it is rescinding all designated Wind Energy Areas – or WEAs...

Albertsons Expands Tuna Salad Recall

UPDATE July 30, 2025: Albertsons Expands Tuna Salad Recall

Major US retailer Albertsons has expanded its tuna salad recall at stores in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. 

Reser’s Fine Foods initiated the recall earlier this month after discovering that the breadcrumbs used in the items may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. 

The expanded recall includes products with sell thru dates of July 23-28 and July 24-29. The products were also distributed to Randalls and Tom Thumb stores. 

Jewel Osco also joined Albertsons in recalling several of...

BioMar More Than Doubles Vitamin D Levels in All Salmon Feeds 

Aquaculture feed company BioMar has sgnifantly increased vitamin D3 levels across all salmon diets. The move follows regulatory changes in the European Union (EU), which raised the maximum permissible level of vitamin D3 in fish feed from 2,500IU/kg to 60,000 IU/kg. 

In response, BioMar’s R&D team in Denmark conducted a study to evaluate the impact of enhanced vitamin D3 supplementation in salmon diets.  

The 61-day trial, held between July and September 2022, tested ten dietary treatments containing increased levels of...

Kroger Announces New Leaders in Key Roles

The Kroger Co. today announced leadership changes in several key roles across the company.

Kroger appointed Ed Oldham to Head of Sourcing. Oldham joins Kroger from PetSmart, where he was Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer. He led the company's distribution and transportation strategy across North America, overseeing an international distribution network and 2,500 associates. Oldham brings more than 25 years of experience in retail, CPGs, and consulting, where he led planning, buying, replenishment, operations and sourcing decisions across multi-billion-dollar categories. Before joining PetSmart...

Alaska Salmon Harvests Enter Pivotal Week For Remainder of the Season

Having exceeded the Bristol Bay forecast for sockeye harvest, production in other regions of Alaska for sockeye has fallen far short. In the Copper River, only 41% of the pre-season forecast of sockeye has been harvested, with that run nearly over. But this week, statistical week 31 in salmon management parlance, is a pivotal week historically for pink salmon. Statewide, it is the week that starts the upward trajectory for higher production from seine-caught pink salmon. 

In Alaska, salmon harvests and runs...

Chad Stine Tapped to Lead Seattle Fish Company and Lombardi Brothers Meats

Founders Group of Food Companies announced the appointment of Chade Stine as the new President of the Seattle Fish Company and Lombardi Brothers Meats, effective August 11.

Stine will follow Christian Maas, who has been named Chief Operating Officer for Founders. In the past year and a half, Maas led the integration of Seattle Fish Company and Lombardi Brothers Meats.

Stine enters the role with over two decades of experience in the meat and seafood sectors. His most recent role was with Meats by Linz in Chicago...

The Retail Rundown: Retailers Push Protein as July Wraps

As July comes to a close and summer heat intensifies, retailers are pushing protein promotions to attract shoppers and encourage at-home grilling and cooking.

Seafood reclaimed the top spot in protein ad share this week, accounting for nearly 27% of all features. Pork followed at 24%, while beef and chicken trailed close behind at roughly 23% each. Egg promotions dipped slightly to around 1%.

Expana notes that retail egg demand has softened—typical for summer, when hot weather reduces in-home usage. Shelf prices are holding near $3.00 per dozen, well below early-year highs, but lighter consumption has dampened order volumes...

Hissho Sushi Teams Up with Mike’s Hot Honey on New Spicy Salmon Roll  

Things are heating up over at Hissho Sushi. The North-Carolina based sushi distributor has teamed up with Mike’s Hot Honey on a first-of-its-kind sushi experience: the Hot Honey Maple Smoked Salmon Roll. 

This spicy-sweet addition is now available for a limited time at nearly 2,000 stores nationwide, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Meijer, Stop & Shop, The Fresh Market, and more.  

The California roll with avocado, cucumber and spicy imitation crab is topped with maple smoked salmon, Japanese BBQ sauce, sriracha, crispy fried...

Inside the 2025 Food Manufacturing Landscape: Workforce Challenges and Investment Uptick

Global Location Strategies (GLS), a site selection advisory firm, unveiled its 2025 edition of the Best Places for Food Manufacturing Insights Report, which featured some intriguing takeaways about the impact of tariffs, immigration raids, and regulatory shifts on food manufacturing expansion.

The report features findings from the sector that spans animal food manufacturing, grain and oilseed milling, sugar and confectionery product manufacturing, fruit and vegetable preserving, specialty food manufacturing, dairy product manufacturing, animal slaughtering and processing, seafood product preparation and packaging, bakeries and tortilla manufacturing, and other food...

Clearwater Sells Macduff Processing Operations to Seafood Ecosse

Canadian seafood company Clearwater Seafoods has sold the land-based processing operations of Macduff Shellfish to Scotland’s Seafood Ecosse, returning the operations to Scottish ownership. Under a new strategic alliance, Clearwater will continue to operate the scallop fishing vessels that supply Macduff.

 The new strategic alliance will see Clearwater operate the scallop fishing vessels that exclusively supply the Macduff operations. Macduff is one of the largest wild-caught shellfish processors in Europe.

Macduff Shellfish said the move between the two firms will “enhance the value of Scottish seafood” and improve service to...

Sysco Delivers Strong Q4 and Solid FY 2025 Results

Sysco announced its fourth-quarter and full-year results Tuesday morning.

"Sysco's Q4 results exceeded expectations, as improved financial outcomes were driven by Sysco-specific initiatives and improved restaurant industry traffic. Specific to our business, USFS local volumes improved sequentially by 200 bps, including a strong exit rate in June. Importantly, drivers of our progress accelerated during the quarter, with the momentum continuing in July, an encouraging signal as we begin the next fiscal year of profitable growth" said Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer...

Inside the Mind of a Procurement Strategist: Former Kellanova CPO Looks at Key Trends

At Expana’s Agri-Food Americas event on September 23-24 in Chicago, procurement critical thinking and business solution finding will take center stage. Expert insights will be given and many networking opportunities will be enabled for attendees, who are all faced with disruptive trade shits and global agricultural commodity supply chain woes. 

The ambition is for agri-food leaders to unite, discuss, seek expert overviews, and gain some sense of direction and clarity they can ultimately take back home and apply to their procurement strategies.

Russia's Far East Fishing Operations Largely Unscathed by Tsunami

The earthquake and tsunami, which affected the Russian Kamchatka region and the Kurile Islands, have not had a major negative impact on the regional fisheries sector, as most local fisherman continue their operations.  

This is despite the fact that some are carrying on amid aftershocks in the region. According to recent statements of the Russian Unified Geophysical Service, the magnitude 8.7 earthquake was the strongest in the Kamchatka seismic focal zone since 1952.  

According to Dmitry Klokov, head of the press service of the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo)...

Nissui’s New Head Office and Factory Targets Surge in Frozen, Surimi Production

Japan’s Nissui Co. plans to build a new head office and factory for its Kitakyushu Nissui Co. company with an eye on increasing frozen food and surimi production, per a July 30 announcement.

The company’s domestic food business, guided by the company vision "GOOD FOODS 2030," is looking to "become a market-creating business in strategic categories through technological innovation and expanded production capabilities."

Nissui said it is strengthening categories such as frozen foods and surimi products, aiming...

Canada Designates First Offshore Wind Areas Off Nova Scotia Coast 

Canada has officially designated its first four offshore wind energy areas off the coast of Nova Scotia, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to clean energy. 

The selected zones deemed suitable for potential offshore wind projects include French Bank, Middle Bank, Sable Island Bank near the mainland, and Sydney Bight off Cape Breton.  

“The identification of wind energy areas off the coast of Nova Scotia is a significant step forward towards unlocking our renewable energy potential,” said Tim Hodgson, federal Minister of Energy and...

18 Feed Mills Achieve ASC Certification So Far in 2025 

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Feed Certification program is gaining global momentum as key players within the seafood industry ramp up production of responsibly sourced aquafeed.  

Between January and mid-July 2025, 18 feed mills in 12 countries, including Norway, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, have achieved certification under the ASC Feed Standard.  

For the first time, feed mills (all operated by Skretting) in Australia, Japan, and Italy have earned ASC certification.

The ASC standard is made up of several aquafeed production factors, including the use of...

Trump Targets India, America’s Largest Shrimp Source, With 25% Import Tariff

President Donald Trump announced that all products imported into the United States from India will face a 25% tariff starting August 1, injecting new uncertainty for America’s largest shrimp supplier.

Trump also said India will face an additional penalty for its purchases of military equipment and energy from Russia, according to a post on his social media accounts. He did not provide further details on what the penalty might include.

“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business...

At Least 17,000 Salmon Affected in Mortality Event at Mowi Canada East Site in Newfoundland

Mowi Canada East has confirmed a salmon mortality event at its Little Burdock Cove site in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

The incident occurred on July 20 and was reported on July 28 through a notice published on the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) website. 

The event impacted more than 10% of the farm’s stock, which is roughly 17,600 of the site's 176,249 Atlantic salmon. According to the company, the event was caused by a rise in water temperature combined with a drop in...

NOAA Reports Slight Drop in US Large Whale Entanglements in 2023

NOAA Fisheries unveiled its National Report on Large Whale Entanglements Confirmed in the United States in 2023, which found that 64 entanglements took place in 2023, down slightly from the 67 entanglements confirmed in 2022.

It is also below the average annual number of confirmed entanglements over the previous 16 years (which was 71.8), per NOAA Fisheries. NOAA said it would continue to analyze data to determine if the dip in entanglements was a temporary decline or the beginning of a longer-term trend...

Report Finds Full-Service Restaurants are Winning Back Customers with Menu Updates

Full-service restaurants are hoping to make a comeback in 2025, thanks to menu updates and operational improvements, according to Chatmeter’s latest Full-Service Reputation Ranking Report. 

The report, based on over one million reviews from June 16, 2023 to June 15, 2025, analyzed customer feedback across 10 of America's largest casual dining chains. The findings suggest that restaurants introducing new menu items and enhancing the overall dining experience are seeing a spike in both demand and customer reviews.  

The Cheesecake Factory, which claimed the...

Omega Protein Calls for More Study Before Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Fishery Reductions

Menhaden processor Omega Protein and its harvesting partner Ocean Harvesters sent a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) calling for further reviews ahead of a potential reduction to the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.

The letter, written by Omega Protein’s Senior Scientific Advisor Peter Himchak, claimed there was an “inordinate amount of focus on menhaden generally, and the reduction fishery in particular” when discussions about osprey declines in the Bay were held...

ANALYSIS: Fresh Imported Seafood Market Faces Crossroads Ahead of August 1 Tariff Deadline

As the August 1 tariff deadline draws closer, the fresh imported seafood sector is bracing for renewed disruption. Importers, buyers and distributors remain on edge amid uncertainty over how broadly the next round of tariffs will be applied. Countries not currently engaged in trade negotiations may continue to face a blanket 10% tariff, or potentially steeper rates. At the same time, a 50% tariff has already been announced on seafood imports from Brazil, a key supplier of fresh snapper, grouper and swordfish...

Indian Seafood Producer Applauds UK Trade Pact, Foresees Export Surge for Shrimp

Indian seafood firm Kings Infra applauded the recent trade deal between India and the United Kingdom as it will lead to duty-free access for India’s seafood exports to the UK.

The company said the move will benefit exporters and boost trade volumes. Kings Infra pointed out that frozen fish ands shrimp products, processed seafood and fishmeal and fish-based ingredients will all benefit from the increased market access to the UK.

“This FTA is a landmark moment for Indian aquaculture. Duty-free access...

Japan: Farmed Coho Salmon Landings in Miyagi Reach 15,000 MT, Surpassing JPY 10 Billion in Value 

As of mid-July, the total landing volume of farmed coho salmon in Miyagi Prefecture for the 2025 season (March–July) has reached 14,900 metric tons — a 15% increase compared to the same time last year. This exceeds planned production by 3%. The total value stands at 12,403 million yen ($83.74 million), surpassing 10 billion yen ($67.51 million) for the first time in two years. 

The average unit price was 833 yen/kg ($5.62/kg), up...