In February 2023, exports of agri-food products from the EU increased compared to January and reached 18.6 billion euros. Almost all EU agri-food categories had a dynamic start to the year (January and February combined) in value terms compared to last year. As a result, exports of agri-food products from the EU in February increased by 1.7 billion euros (+10%) compared to the same time last year.
The main export products that contributed to the growth were cereals, fruit and nut products, and dairy products. Moreover, the EU increased grain exports to North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa in the first two months of 2023 by another 768,000 tons compared to the same period in 2022. This shows the EU's continued support for global food security, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
The three main destinations for agri-food exports from the EU - the UK , the US and CHINA - remained at the same level as in January.
In February 2023, the value of agri-food imports to the EU continued its downward trend from November last year and reached 13.3 billion euros.
The most imported commodities continued to be oilseeds and protein crops, with 7.4 million tonnes of oilseeds and protein crops imported in January and February 2023 compared to 6.8 million tonnes in the same period in 2022. Imports of fruits and nuts also increased, outpacing imports of coffee , tea, cocoa and spices in value terms.
In February 2023, Ukraine was the EU's top source of imports, followed by Brazil and the UK.