EU’s agri-food trade surplus grows

EU agri-food exports remained high in September 2017 at €11.7 billion. Meanwhile, agri-food imports to the EU dropped to a monthly value of €8.8 billion, making a trade surplus of €2.9 billion in September 2017, which is higher than for the same period last year.

The greatest increases in monthly export values between September 2017 and September 2016 were for China (+€146 million), Turkey (+€45 million), Nigeria (+€42 million) and Russia (+€40 million). However, monthly exports decreased to the UAE (-€73 million), Vietnam (-€65 million), Egypt (-€44 million) and India (-€41 million).

EU vegetable exports fall

The sectors which recorded the highest export growth were raw hides, skins and furskins (+€70 million), milk powders (+€68 million) and cereals other than wheat and rice (+€61 million).

Falls were recorded for vegetables exports (€-54 million), sugar (-€49 million) and wheat (-€42 million).

As for the value of agri-food imports to the EU, the greatest increases compared to Sept 2016 were for goods arriving from Ukraine and India, and to a lesser extent, from Indonesia. Meanwhile, there were falls in the value of imports from the US, Brazil, Ivory Coast and Ghana. The largest increases in imports were recorded for fatty acids, cereals (wheat and others), and vegetable oils. The greatest fall in import values were seen in soya beans, cocoa beans and sugar.