The European Union both exported and imported more grain last marketing year, new figures from the European Commission show. France was the largest exporter last season, while Algeria was the main buyer.
In the 2019/2020 marketing year, the European Union (excluding the United Kingdom) exported 54,9 million tonnes of grain. That is an increase of 12,7 million tons (or 30%) compared to the 5-year average. Algeria was the most important buyer last season, with 6,39 million. This country is closely followed by Saudi Arabia. Last year, that country purchased 6,2 million tons of grain from the European Union. China is the third largest importer with 3,8 million tons.
Most product was exported from France: 19,1 million tons, followed by Romania (10,3 million tons) and Germany (7,4 million tons). These 3 Member States therefore accounted for 66% of total European grain exports in the last marketing year. In detail, the EU-27 mainly exported soft wheat, namely 36,7 million tons. Corn exports last season amounted to 5,8 million tons.
Import also higher
In addition, European grain imports are also at a higher level. The EU-27 imported 25,7 million tons of grain last season, which is 2,75 million more than in the previous season (+12%). The main supplier was Ukraine, with 12,5 million tons. This is followed by Brazil with 4,6 million tonnes and the United Kingdom with 2,7 million tonnes. The most imported product is corn. In the 2019/2020 season, the EU-27 imported 18,4 million tons of corn.