The European Union saw record agri-food exports in 2016, with the USA and China being its major trading partners. Food imports, however, didn't see the same growth and shrunk.
The European Commission (EC) reported on Thursday that the EU achieved a new all-time record of 130.7 billion euros ($138.4 billion) in 'agri-food exports' in 2016. That's 1.7 billion euros, or 1.3 percent, above the 2015 number - and 29.4 billion euros, or 29 percent, above the 2011 number.
Several foodstuffs imported into the EU saw substantial increases in total value in 2016 compared to the previous year. These included cocoa beans, vegetable oils (other than palm and olive oils), fresh vegetables, citrus fruit and oilseeds (other than soya beans).
The 'agri-food' sector encompassed 7.5 percent of total EU goods exports in 2016. Offsetting those food exports are food imports, which totalled 6.6 percent of all goods imported into the EU. The net surplus of the agri-food sector in 2016 was 18.8 billion euros - nearly half the overall surplus of the EU in merchandise trade, which totalled 39.3 billion euros last year.
source: dw.com
