EU agri food exports were 5.4% lower in April 2022 than in March 2022 at €17.9bn. Imports were also down by just 1.2% compared with March at €13.5bn.

Despite the monthly decline, overall value for the January to April period is running ahead of 2021, up 10% for exports and 28% for imports. Much of this increase can be attributed to the rising value of agri commodities compared with the previous year.

The biggest increase in exports was to the UK at 20%. This reflects a lower than usual volume in the first months of 2021 because of Brexit stockpiling at the end of 2020. Butter exports to the UK increased by 69%, wheat by 25% and maize by 46%. The biggest decrease for the period was in exports to China, which were down by €2bn, with the drop in the volume and value of pigmeat sales a large contributor to this. The UK remained the largest export destination from January to April 2022 at almost €15bn, followed by the US at €8.9bn.

The big increase in EU imports between January and April 2022 was driven by a 65% increase in imports from China, 46% increase from Brazil and 43% increase from the UK.

The EU has spent €2.5bn on soya beans and meal from Brazil and a further €1.4bn on coffee beans, which have almost doubled in value compared with the same period last year. Brazil remains the highest value supplier of imported agri food to the EU, followed by the UK.