Brussels, 20/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The EU's food trade in agri-food products hit a new high of €1.5 billion in April 2016, compared with €1 billion in April 2015, according to the latest figures, published by the European Commission on Monday 20 June.
EU agri-food exports in April 2016 registered a decline compared to March but still reached a significant value of almost €11 billion. This is about €0.2 billion less than in April 2015, but €0.9 billion higher than in April 2013 and 2014.
For the 12-month period of May 2015 to April 2016, EU agri-food exports reached a value of almost €129 billion, or an increase of 2.8% in value compared to the same period a year ago. Major gains were achieved in values of agri-food exports to the USA (€2.5 billion; 14%) and China (€2.4 billion; +29%), followed by increases in exports to Saudi Arabia (€0.8 billion). Agri-food exports to Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia each increased by €300 million or more in one year. Exports to Russia further went down, from €7.3 billion (May 2014 to March 2015) to €5.5 billion (April 2015 to March 2016), i.e. a reduction in values by 25% because of the Russian embargo on agricultural products from the EU.
The report shows that since the Russian sanitary embargo of 2014, pork produced in the EU has found new outlets in Asia, particularly in China and the Philippines. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)