EU AGRI-FOOD TRADE RECOVERS
Earlier this week, the European Commission reported that while the cumulative quarterly agri-food trade value remains lower than in 2020 given the lower performance recorded in the first two months of the year, the monthly trade value of March 2021 was the highest observed in the last two years. In fact, the value for EU27 exports in March 2021 rose by 20% compared to the previous month. Similarly, EU imports increased in value by 24% in March compared to the previous month.
During the first quarter of 2021, there has been a significant fall in the value of EU imports from the UK (-43%). While generally all agri-food product categories reported decreasing imports from the UK, spirits, chocolate and confectionary, tropical fruits, nuts and spices and live animals experienced the most significant import reductions in value. For the period January-March 2021, the EU27 export values fell most to the UK (-10.6%), when compared with the same period in 2020. EU monthly exports to the UK, however, have progressively increased since the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.
The top EU agri-food export products in the period January-March 2021 included wine, pig meat, pasta and bakery products, chocolate and confectionary, and infant food. The top EU agri-food import products included fruit, oilcakes, soybeans, unroasted coffee and tea.