EU agri-food exports hit a record €228.6 billion in 2023, according to a new report published today (Friday, April 5) by the European Commission.
EU imports totalled €158.6 billion last year which delivered a surplus of €70.1 billion.
This was mainly due to “sustained high prices” for EU export products matched with declining world prices for imported products.
“Key drivers of EU exports included cereal preparations, dairy products, and wine,” the report highlighted.
Exports
The top destination for EU agri-food exports last year was the UK which accounted for 22% or €51.3 billion of exports.
Next was the United States which despite a slight decrease of EU exports in 2023 – in particular for spirits and liqueurs – accounted for €27.2 billion of exports or 12%.
China was the third biggest export market and accounted for €14.6 billion in 2023 although exports of pigmeat fell by 29%, €1 billion, while cereal preparations and milling products also declined by 16%.
Other major trends identified in the latest report show EU agri-food exports to Turkey grew by €683 million and agri-food exports to Ukraine also increased by €533 million.
According to the latest report the top three agri-food exports represented close to 30% of the overall total.
These included cereal preparations and milling products valued at €24.2 billion, or 11% of EU
exports, dairy products valued at €19.6 billion or 9% and wine and wine based products valued at €17.6 billion or 8%.
Imports
One key trend highlighted in the latest report shows that after reaching a record value in 2022, EU agri-food imports decreased €12.8 billion but were still valued at €158.6 billion.
Brazil remained the biggest source of agri-food imports for the EU in 2023 accounting for €17.3 billion of goods but latest figures also show that imports from Brazil decreased by €2.9 billion – which was chiefly due to a significant reduction in imported volumes of soya beans, coffee and maize.
The UK was still the second largest source of EU imports valued at €15.5 billion in 2023 while Ukraine was the third source of EU imports, with a value of €11.8 billion, last year.
The EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said today that the latest EU agri-food trade figures were “a strong reflection of the quality of EU produce and competitiveness of EU production”.