EU agri-food trade rebounds since May 2023 

After a slowdown in April, EU agri-food trade bounced back in May with an increase in both imports and exports. The increase in exports was greater than in imports allowing the EU agri-food surplus to increase by 2% month-on-month in May, reaching +€5.2 billion. These are the main findings of the latest monthly agri-food trade report published today by the European Commission.

EU agri-food exports climbed by 8% month-on-month in May 2023, reaching €19.4 billion, the same amount as in May 2022. Exports from January to May 2023 totalled €95.7 billion overall, up 8% from the corresponding period in 2022.

Exports increased in May across most product categories compared to the previous month. From January to May 2023, biggest increase in cumulative exports was recorded for fruit and vegetable preparations that rose by €974 million (+25% compared to 2022).

The top three destinations for EU agri-food exports between January and May were the United Kingdom, the United States and China. Exports to the United Kingdom and China increased compared to 2022, while they decreased in direction of the United States and Egypt.

EU imports also rose in May to €14.3 billion, a 10% month-on-month gain. They remained 8% below their level in May 2022, as unit values of agri-food imports have decreased over the year. Since the beginning of 2023, total imports remained 3% higher than at the same period in 2022.

The top three  origin countries for EU agri-food imports between January and May were Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Imports from Ukraine had increased in comparison to 2022, while imports from Argentina and Russia had decreased.