EU Agri-Food Exports at Record Level

EU - After a slow-down in August, the value of EU agri-food exports has resumed the positive trend (+13 per cent), as monthly exports in September exceeded imports by €2 billion.

7 December 2015

2 minute read

The exports to the US (+19 per cent) and China (+18 per cent) did particularly well. Russia fell down to fourth position as destination for EU agri-food exports, after US, China and Switzerland.

The most significant increases in monthly export values were witnessed for wine, spirits and liqueurs and for chocolate and confectionaries.

Imports to the EU in September also went up compared to the previous month (+4.5 per cent), especially for oilseeds other than soyabeans, coffee and tea, and cocoa beans.

In the 12 month period from October 2014 to September 2015, EU agri-food exports to third countries are still at record level with an increase by 6.0 per cent in value compared to the same period one year ago.

Analysing the 12 month export performance by product category, the European Commission reported export values increased in particular for cereals other than wheat (+66 per cent), wine (+8 per cent), spirits and liqueurs (+7 per cent) as well as for infant food and other milk and cereals preparations (+10 per cent) and for hides, skins and furskins (+23 per cent).

On the negative side, milk powders, cheese, fruit and vegetables lost in export value over the 12 month period, all of them products affected by the Russian embargo. Exports in oilseeds, except soybeans, also suffered a loss by 13 per cent in export values, although at lower absolute value compared to the products mentioned before.