The annual value of EU agri-food exports in 2016 reached a new record level with total exports reaching €130.7 billion, up €1.7 billion on 2015.

The biggest increases in annual exports were to the USA (up €1.26 billion) and China (up €1.06 billion).

At the same time, the value of EU agri-food imports went down 1.5 per cent to €112 billion. This leads to an increase of the EU agri-food trade surplus to € 18.8 billion, up from €15.3 billion in 2015.

The agri-food sector accounted for 7.5 per cent of total EU exports in goods in 2016; and 6.6 per cent of all imported goods are agri-food products.

With a surplus of €18.8 billion the agri-food sector is also a major contributor to the overall surplus of the European Union in merchandise trade, which stood at €39.3 billion in 2016.