Thomas Lyons 
The European Commission has released its latest monitoring report on agri-food trade, revealing that the EU made €401.5 billion in trade during 2022, with a positive trade balance of €58 billion. Despite global price increases, the volume of agri-food products traded has not decreased, and in some cases has even increased. The EU remains the top global trader of agri-food products. The commission attributed this to the EU’s broad network of trade relations and agreements, which allowed for the diversification of trade partners to overcome challenges throughout the year, including those incurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
EU agri-food exports reached €229.8 billion in 2022, a 31% increase compared to 2021. Cereals and cereal preparations and milling products have been increasing the most in EU total exports, representing 7% and 10% of EU exports, respectively. As part of its commitment to global food security, the EU has been increasing wheat exports to developing economies. The most important destinations for these exports were Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and Nigeria, with a total of 14.4 million tonnes exported. Dairy products remain one of the EU’s primary exports, with €20.4 billion worth of exports in 2022. Pigmeat also remained the largest exporting meat product, with €13.8 billion in exports, despite a drop in Chinese demand.
The UK is still the primary destination for EU exports, representing one fifth of total EU exports. The United States ranks second, with 13% of EU exports in 2022, followed by China with 7% of total EU exports. In terms of imports, the EU saw an increase of 32% compared to 2021, totaling €172 billion in imports. This is largely due to an increase in global prices, particularly for oilseed products and coffee. The first category of imported products are oilseeds and protein crops, of which the EU imported €25.8 billion worth in 2022. The rise in global prices has been combined with an increasing need for imports of sunflower and soya beans due to the summer drought of 2022. This has also been the case for maize imports to compensate for the EU domestic drop in production. Fruit and nuts, as well as coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices, remain the second and third top agri-food categories imported into the EU in value terms, increasing significantly compared to 2021, while volumes remained relatively stable.
Brazil remains the primary import source for the EU, representing 12% of total EU imports. The UK ranks second, with 9% of EU imports in 2022. Ukraine has overtaken the US in 2022 as the third import source of EU agri-food imports. Overall, the report indicates that the EU agri-food sector remains strong and resilient, with the ability to adapt to changing global circumstances.
