EU F&V deficit narrows

The EU’s fruit and vegetable trade deficit has narrowed in the last twelve months. While imports of fresh vegetables were up 9% between May 2018 and May 2019, imports to the EU of fresh fruits were down 19%. If we look at the detail, citrus fruit imports fell by 26%, while tropical fruit imports rose 6%. Meanwhile, exports to third countries of vegetables climbed 7.9% over the 12 months. Fresh fruit exports rose even more (+12.9%). Citrus fruit exports rocketed 33.7%, while tropical fruit exports increased 7.6%.