Luxembourg, 05/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - According to the first estimates from Eurostat on 5 June, the volume of retail trade grew by 1.6% in the euro area (EA13) and by 2.7% in the EU27 in April 2007, compared with April 2006. Compared with March 2007, the retail sales index rose by 0.2% in the euro area and remained unchanged in the EU27. In annual terms (April 2007, compared with April 2006) retail trade of “food, drinks and tobacco” increased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU27. The non food sector grew by 2.3% and by 4.0% respectively. Among the member states for which data are available, total retail trade rose in 15 member states, and fell in Belgium (-3.7%) and Portugal (-2.4%). The largest increases were observed in Latvia (+23.3%), Estonia (+13.5%), Lithuania (+13.0%) and Poland (+10.4%).