Highest monthly agri-food trade balance recorded in August 2022
Both EU agri-food exports and imports increased in August 2022, leading to the highest point for EU monthly trade flows in 2022 at €35 billion. EU’s trade balance has also reached its highest value of the year that same month at €5.6 billion. The value of EU exports increased by 6% and imports by 3% compared to July 2022. These are the main findings of the latest monthly agri-food trade report published today by the European Commission.
The largest markets for EU exports in August were the United Kingdom, the United States and China. From the beginning of the year until August 2022, over a third (36%) of EU exports of wine actually went to North America. In total, the EU exported €148 billion of agri-food products from January to August 2022. This corresponds to 75% of the value of total 2021 exports.
In August 2022, the EU mainly imported from Brazil, the UK and Ukraine. EU imports from Ukraine increased by 19% in August compared to July, mainly due to increased imports of rapeseed (+469%) and wheat (+246%) in value terms. Total EU imports from January to August 2022 reached € 110.9 billion, corresponding to 85% of the annual imports in 2021.
India is one of the largest trade partners for the EU. The EU imports more agri-food products from India than it exports in value terms. The top three EU products exported to India are plant fibres, dairy products and fruits and nuts (mostly apple and pears).
