The European Union has released its Agri-Food Trade Monitor for January to March 2024. The EU’s trade surplus — the difference between export value and import value — for agricultural products and food reached €6.7bn in March, an increase of 8% from February and 3% from March 2023. Exports rose by 4% monthly since January 2024, reaching €20.1bn in March 2024, but remained 6% below March 2023 levels. Imports remained relatively stable at €13.5bn in March 2024, which is 10% less than in March 2023.
In the wine and wine-based products segment, the trade surplus decreased by approximately 2.59% when comparing the first quarters of 2024 and 2023. The surplus dropped from €3.7bn in 2023 to €3.6bn from January to March 2024. Focusing solely on exports, the quarterly comparison shows a 3.33% decrease, with the export value falling from €4bn to €3.9bn.
For the entire year of 2023, wine ranked third in export categories after cereals and dairy products. The EU exported wine worth €17.6bn in 2023, which is below the €18.3bn in 2022 but above the €16.6bn in 2021. MS
