With an agri-food trade value of €255 billion in 2017, the EU confirms for yet another year its position as largest global exporter and importer of agri-food products. EU exports of agri-food products reached €138 billion in 2017, representing an annual increase of 5.1%. With imports at a value of €117 billion, the EU has a net trade surplus of €21 billion in its agri-food trade, according to the 2017 annual agri-food trade report published today. The entire output of the EU's agricultural sector is estimated at €427 billion in 2017. The food processing chain accounts for 7.5% of employment and 3.7% of total value added in the EU. The share of exports in production value chain is continuously increasing and as such, exports are a driver for jobs and growth for the European agri-food sector. Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development said: "The success of agricultural trade is clearly linked to reforms of the CAP that allow EU producers to be competitive on international markets. But it is also thanks to the worldwide reputation of EU products as being safe, sustainably produced, nutritious and of high quality. Our ambitious trade agenda - with recent successes in negotiations with Canada, Japan and Mexico - helps EU farmers and food producers make full use of the opportunities of international markets while recognising the need to provide sufficient safeguards for more sensitive sectors."
Source: European Commission
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