2012-07-26 map fruit and veg trade

1

Monitoring Agri-trade PolicyThe EU and major world players in Fruit and Vegetable Trade

July 2012

DG AGRICULTURE and RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Contents:Trade in fruit and vegetables: balance sheetTrade structure of fruit and vegetablesDestinations of EU exports of F&VOrigins of imported F&VCloser look at Russia: the EU and its competitorsCloser look at China: top world F&V exporter and an important EU partner

Introduction

This MAP is a statistical snapshot on EU trade in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. It also looks at trade developments of EU major trade partners such as Russia, Turkey and China.

Over the last decade the EU has been constantly recording a trade deficit in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, totalling €9.8 billion in 2011. The deficit grows to €11.9 billion, if trade in nuts isincluded. However, a closer look at the balance reveals that this figure is mainly due to the deficit in trade in the fruit sector, particularly in the tropical fruit group. In contrast, trade in vegetables, both fresh and processed is rather balanced.

This MAP also shows that although EU exports of fresh fruit and vegetables have risen impressively over the last decade to our top partner, Russia, the

EU relative share in Russian imports is diminishing as Turkey and China are finding their way to the Russian market. Turkey's impressive expansion in tomato exports is highlighted as it seeks to look into former Soviet Union markets.

In the context of trade with Russia this MAP also finds that in spite of the ban on imports of fresh vegetables from the EU due to the E.coli crisis in 2011, total EU exports of vegetables to Russia were still higher than in the year 2010. This is due to better sales in the 1st

half of 2011 than in the 1st half in 2010.

Trade in fruit and vegetables: balance sheet

Over the last decade the EU has been constantly recording a trade deficit in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, totalling €9.8 billion in 2011. The deficit grows to €11.9 billion if trade in nuts is included. Since 1999 EU exports of fruit, vegetables and nuts have grown impressively by close to 160% to the level of €8.5 billion and continue the growing trend. In the same period, however, imports have picked up quite considerably as well. In absolute terms the gain in imports was greater than in exports – imports went up by €8.4 billion (from €12 billion in 1999) while exports rose by €5.2 billion (from €3.3 billion). As a result, although on average exports grew at the rate of 8.2%, almost double the growth of

2

imports, the gap between exports and imports has widened, rising from a €8.7 billion deficit in 1999 to a €11.9 billion deficit in 2011. In the most recent years, however, the trade deficit has gone down from the all-time high of €12.9 billion (€11.1 billion with nuts excluded) in 2008 to €11.9 billion in 2011 (€9.8 billion) (see Graph 1).

Graph 1: EU27 trade in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (in billion €)

Note: the balance includes trade in nuts

In our analysis we have broken down the categories of fruit and vegetables into tropical fruit, fresh fruit (other than tropical), nuts (other than tropical), processed fruit, fresh vegetables, potatoes, and processed vegetables1. Table 1 provides a snapshot on trade in fruit and vegetables since 1999 with a detailed subdivision into selected categories of F&V.2

It is noticeable that the trade balance is constantly worsening in the fruit sector, while in the vegetable and processed F&V it is more or less constant and even slightly improving. A closer look at fruit reveals

1 Note that the analyzed categories from chapter 07,08, 20

of the Combined Nomenclature with some exceptions. The exclusions in particular cover peppers for industrial use, dried leguminous vegetables and manioc from chapter 07, sweet corn, olives, yams, sweet potatoes, palm hearts, peanut butter, grape must from chapter 20.

2 The subcategories for fruit and vegetables are the following: Fresh fruit and nuts a) tropical fruit: CN 0801, 0803, 0804; b) fresh fruit CN 0805-0810; c) nuts CN 0802 and 08135031; 08135039; Processed fruit: CN 0811, 0812, CN ex 0813, 0814, 2006, 2007,CN ex 2008; CN ex 2009; Fresh vegetables: a) fresh vegetables (excluding potatoes): CN 0702-ex0709; b) potatoes: CN 0701; Processed vegetables: CN ex2001, CN 2002, CN 2003, CN ex2004, CN ex2005, CN ex 0710, CN ex0711, CN ex 0712.

that the deficit is deepening mainly on the tropical fruit group, in particular for bananas and pineapples. The deficit is naturally a result of growing imports uncompensated by exports as the EU production of tropical fruit is marginal. Imports of fresh fruit (other than tropical) are growing at a similar pace. Table grapes and oranges were the top import products of this group with the highest increases. However, with exports picking up, the trade deficit in the fresh fruit group is not as pronounced as in the category of tropical fruit. As can been seen below, since 2005 exports of fresh fruit have doubled. This is mainly due to the improved sales of fresh apples and pears.

Table 1: Trade in fruit and vegetables in billion €

Product category 1999 2005 2011

Compound annual

growth rate

EXPORTSFresh fruit&nuts 0,8 1,5 3,0 11,0%Tropical 0,0 0,1 0,2 10,2%Fresh fruit 0,7 1,2 2,6 11,5%Nuts 0,1 0,2 0,2 6,1%Processed fruit 0,7 0,9 1,4 6,3%

Fresh vegetables 0,8 1,0 2,1 8,4%

Fresh vegs excl. potatoes 0,6 0,8 1,4 7,8%Potatoes 0,2 0,2 0,7 9,8%Processed vegetables 1,0 1,3 2,1 6,4%

TOTAL EXPORTS of F&V 3,3 4,7 8,5 8,2%IMPORTSFresh fruit&nuts 7,5 10,7 12,3 4,2%Tropical 3,0 4,0 4,9 4,1%Fresh fruit 3,2 4,5 5,0 3,8%Nuts 1,2 2,2 2,3 5,6%

Processed fruit 2,8 3,2 4,6 4,2%

Fresh vegetables 0,8 1,5 2,0 7,5%Fresh vegs excl. potatoes 0,7 1,3 1,8 8,3%Potatoes 0,1 0,2 0,2 1,4%Processed vegetables 1,0 1,2 1,6 4,4%

TOTAL IMPORTS of F&V 12,0 16,6 20,5 4,5%

NET TRADE (exports - imports)Fresh fruit&nuts -6,6 -9,3 -9,3 -Tropical -3,0 -3,9 -4,7 -Fresh fruit -2,5 -3,3 -2,4 -Nuts -1,1 -2,0 -2,2 -Processed fruit -2,1 -2,3 -3,1 -Fresh vegetables -0,1 -0,5 0,1 -Fresh vegs excl. potatoes -0,1 -0,5 -0,4 -Potatoes 0,1 0,0 0,5 -Processed vegetables 0,0 0,1 0,4 -

TOTAL NET TRADE -8,7 -11,9 -11,9 -

In the case of processed fruit the EU trade balance has always been negative and has particularly worsened in the last few years. Prepared or preserved fruit, frozen fruit, and juices recorded the highest import gains over the last decade. Juices such as apple juice or pineapple juice picked up the most after 2005. See Graph 2 for the balance of trade in fresh and processed fruit (excluding nuts).

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCESource: Eurostat-COMEXT

3

Graph 2: EU27 trade in fresh and processed fruit (in € billion)

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Fruit exports (fresh and processed) Fruit imports (fresh and processed)

Balance (fruit)

Source: Eurostat - COMEXT

EU imports and exports of fresh vegetables have doubled over the last decade but their trade is more or less balanced. In 2007, total imports of fresh vegetables peaked to a decade high level of €2.2 billion – mainly in sweet peppers and tomatoes. In the last two years imports were close to the 2007 level, but growing exports managed to keep the balance around zero or slightly positive in 2011. The major contributors to growth on the export side were potatoes, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers.

Trade in processed vegetables has been rather balanced in the last decade, with a slight surplus observed in the most recent years. This is due to higher growth of exports of processed vegetables.

See Graph 3 for the balance of trade in fresh and processed vegetables.

Graph 3: EU27 trade in fresh and processed vegetables (in €billion).

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Veg exports (fresh and processed) Veg imports (fresh and processed)

Balance (veg)


Trade structure of fruit and vegetables

Fresh vegetablesIn 2011, EU fresh vegetable exports reached around €2.1 billion. Since 1999 the value of vegetable exports has more than doubled. The gains were the greatest for such products as (seed, fresh or chilled) potatoes, tomatoes, onions and sweet peppers. Exports of potatoes rose threefold (up to €0.7 billion in 2010), tomatoes – twofold (up to €241 million), onions –threefold (up to €197 million), sweet peppers –twofold (up to €235 million). Other fast growing exports of vegetables included mushrooms (Agaricus type), cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and aubergines among others.

The EU exports of fresh vegetables are currently dominated by potatoes (28% of total vegetable exports), tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and shallots (see Figure 1).

As for imports of fresh vegetables, in terms of value the EU supplies have increased by over 40% to €2 billion in 2011. Two thirds of the import gains were for tomatoes, beans and sweet peppers. In value terms imports of tomatoes increased twofold (both in value and volume terms) to reach €349 million in 2011 (with a peak of €433 million in 2010), beans – fourfold – up to €345 million, sweet peppers – six-fold – up to €274 million. In the case of other major products, the growth of imports was also quite significant. For example, asparagus saw a fourfold increase (up to €126 million), cucumbers – threefold (up to €19 million), garlic - threefold (up to €131 million), onions (and shallots) – near threefold (up to €173 million).

The top imported vegetables are tomatoes, followed by beans, sweet peppers, potatoes, onions, and asparagus. Tomatoes alone now constitute the biggest share of imported fresh vegetables – they make up for around one fifth of imports (see Figure 1 for the structure of imports of vegetables)

Processed vegetablesThe import structure of processed vegetables is dominated by prepared or preserved tomatoes (tomato paste), mushrooms and asparagus. They make up almost half of EU imports of processed vegetables. Over the last decade processed tomatoes recorded the biggest gain in imports, their import value going up from €79.4 million in 1999 to €256.3 million in 2011.

4

On the export side, processed tomatoes and potatoes take up the greatest share (over half of EU exports of processed vegetables). Processed potatoes gained the

most over the last decade, having gone up six-fold up to the value of around €0.6 billion in 2011.

Figure 1: Structure of trade in fresh and processed vegetables

Fresh fruit and nutsIn value terms exports of fresh fruit and nuts have tripled since 1999 and show a continuously growing trend. In 2011, they amounted to around €3 billion. More than a fourth of gains in exports since 1999 can be ascribed to apples and pears, which are the major fruit exported by the EU. In value terms, apples exports increased five-fold (from €149.5 million in 1999 to €706 million in 2011), and those of pears seven-fold (from € 42 million in 1999 to € 277.2 million in 2011).

Imports of fruit and nuts have been steadily growing over the period. They were up over 60% compared to 1999, reaching over €12billion in 2011. The largest import gains were observed for bananas, pineapples, oranges, table grapes, and sultanas. Other fruit, which showed quite a significant growth, albeit their individual share is small, include mandarins, melons, watermelons, and strawberries. See Figure 2 for the composition of exports and imports of fresh fruit and nuts.

Processed fruitOver the last decade exports of processed fruit have doubled and reached €1.4 billion in 2011. In the fruit category the fastest to grow were jams, fruit jellies and marmalades (from €107 million to €274 million). Figure 2 shows that together with fruit juice they are dominating category of exports.

Imports of processed fruit have also been on the up, exceeding the export sales by over €3 billion. Since 1999 important increases were recorded in particular for prepared and preserved fruit and frozen fruit. The outstanding products were frozen raspberries (imports up from €70 million in 1999 to €173 million in 2011), frozen strawberries (€68.2 million to €146 million), prepared or preserved nuts and other seeds (imports up from €172 million to € 435 million).

Imports of juices gained the most in the second half of the last decade, where the value of total imports went up by half. In particular, imports of pineapple juicedoubled both in value and volume (up to €205 million

EU27 Export structure of fresh vegetables

potatoes28%

tomatoes12%

onions and shallots11%

other24%

sweet peppers12%

asparagus2%

mushrooms (agaricus)

4%

cauliflowers3%

cucumbers2%

cabbage lettuce2%

Source: Eurostat-COMEXTAverage EU exports of fresh vegetables in

2009-2011: €1.8 billion

EU27 Import structure of fresh vegetables

tomatoes21%

beans16%

sweet peppers13%

potatoes8%

onions and shallots7%

asparagus6%

garlic5%

other21%

peas3%


Average EU imports of fresh vegetables in2009-2011: €1.9 billion

EU27 Export structure of processed vegetables

tomatoes31%

beans4%

other35%

potatoes29%

cucumbers & gherkins

1%

Source: Eurostat-COMEXT

Average EU exports of processed vegetables in2009-2011 : €1.9 billion

EU27 Import structure of processed vegetables

tomatoes 17%

asparagus12%

cucumbers & gherkins

6%

sweet peppers3%

mushrooms16%

other46%

Source: Eurostat - COMEXTAverage EU imports of processed vegetables in

2009-2011 : €1.5 billion

5

or 232.4 thousand tonnes in 2011). Apple juice also saw a significant increase in value (from €126 million to €261.5 million in 2011) but this translated into a 20% increase in volume (up to 227.4 thousand tonnes). 2007 was the record year for apple juice imports – 419 thousand tonnes landed on the EU

market worth some €393 million (over half being from China). Orange juice imports remain roughly the same and are apparently attractive price-wise. The import value has not changed much since 1999 (around € 1 billion) but the volume of imports went up from 984 thousand tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes.

Figure 2: Structure of trade in fresh and processed fruit and nuts

Destinations of EU exports of F&VThe top destinations for EU exports of fruits and vegetables, both fresh and processed, are Russia, the neighbouring EFTA countries (Norway, Switzerland), the US and Japan (see Table 2 ), the latter being mainly the destination for EU processed products.

• Russia: the top destination for EU F&V exports

Russia is the leading destination for EU exports of fruit and vegetables. It buys roughly one third of EU fresh vegetables and fruit. EU exports of fresh fruit and vegetables to Russia have sprang up almost eightfold since the beginning of the decade, and surpassed sales to Switzerland, the EU leading buyer of EU fruit and vegetables until 2004-2005. In 2011,Russia bought around €1.2 billion worth of fresh and processed fruit (of which €1 billion is for fresh fruit

only) and €886 million worth of fresh and processed vegetables (of which €682 million is for fresh vegetables). This means that it imports twice as much of F&V as Switzerland and four times as much as Norway. The fast growing sales to Russia include fresh tomatoes (from €6 million in 1999 to €116.5 million in 2011), fresh potatoes (from €7 million in 1999 to €198.5 million in 2011), fresh apples (from €53 million to €284 million), and pears (from €19 million to €169 million), among others.

• The US: the only major buyer of F&V with declining imports from the EU

As shown by Table 2 in absolute terms in the aggregate categories of F&V, exports to all of EU main destinations increased, except to the US. In all

EU import structure of fresh fruit and nuts

bananas23%

table grapes9%

almonds5%

pineapples5%

apples5%

hazelnuts5%

oranges4%

sultanas3%

pears2%

other39%


Average EU imports of fresh fruit and nuts in2009-2011: €11.8 billion

EU27 export structure of fresh fruit and nuts

apples22%

apears9%

kiwifruit6%

clementines6%

table grapes6%

oranges6%

nectarines5%

peaches4%

other36%


Average EU exports of fresh fruit and nuts in 2009-2011: € 2.6 billion

EU27 Export structure of processed fruit

fruit juices38%

jams, jellies, marmalades

20%

frozen fruit9%

other33%

Source: Eurostat-COMEXTAverage EU exports of processed fruit in

1999-2011: €1.2 billion

EU27 Import structure of processed fruit

prepared of preserved fruit

31%

orange juice24%

frozen fruit16%

other fruit juices9%

other10%

apple juice5%pineapple juice

5%


Average EU imports of processed fruit in 2009-2011: € 4 billion

6

categories a rather downward trend can be observed in the period from 1999, although in 2011 a slight increase was recorded in trade of processed F&V as compared to 2010. The biggest slump in exports to the US occurred in fresh vegetables (down 47% since 1999), mainly of tomatoes (from €72 million in 1999 to €1.8 million in 2011), apparently due to the competition with Mexican exports. From among the processed vegetables some gains were recorded for processed tomatoes but processed artichokes suffered the most (exports down by €48 million). The US managed to remain the leading destination for the processed vegetables in 2011 but Russia is catching up quite fast.

As for fruit sales to the US, the situation does not look better either – a moderate decrease in exports of fresh fruit (down by 10%) due to the loss on clementines, the major product sold to the US (covering over half of EU fresh fruit exports), and a slight deterioration in the processed fruit (down 2%, although in 2010 the drop was bigger – 21%). It seems that the EU almost completely lost the US market for apple juice –from some €40 million in 1999 (and peak of €87 million in 2000) the export went down to €2.4 million in 2011. This loss can be attributed to the rapid expansion of China on the US market (see further in the text).

• Russia, Mediterranean and Middle East countries: the chief buyers of EU potatoes

Mediterranean and Middle East countries are the chief buyers of EU potatoes, accounting together for around 40% of EU sales. Egypt and Algeria are the biggest buyers of this product in the region. Country-wise, however, Russia again stands out as the top destination for potatoes, purchasing around 1/3 of EU potatoes. Amounting to €228 million in 2011 (605 thousand tonnes), EU sales of potatoes to Russia were record high – the EU sold twice as much as in 2010 in value terms (30% more in volume terms).

It is also worth mentioning that Senegal rises as a quite an important market for the EU fresh vegetables. From 1999 EU exports sprang up six-fold to reach €46.2 million worth of fresh vegetables sold in Senegal in 2011. It is still less than in 2010, a year of record sales amounting to €60 million. Around 60% of

the amount is taken up by fresh onions. Other vegetables include potatoes and carrots.

Graphs 4 and 5 show the top destinations for major fruit and vegetables exported by the EU. As can be seen, Russia and EFTA countries are the leading buyers of EU tomatoes, sweet peppers and cucumbers, while in the case of onions, it is Senegal which ranks the highest: it receives around 20% of EU onion exports.

EU apple and pear exports go not only to the traditional destinations (Russia and EFTA) but more and more to new markets. Apples find their recipients in the Middle East countries while pears reach even the Brazilian market.

Graph 4: Exports of selected fresh vegetables by top destinations (average 2009-2011 in thousand tonnes)

98

21

23

19

36

22

14

14

7

135

131

66

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Russia

Norway

Switzerland

USA

Russia

Switzerland

Russia

Switzerland

Norway

Senegal

Russia

Ivory Coast

TOM

ATO

ES

SW

EE

TP

EP

PE

RS

CU

CU

MB

ER

SO

NIO

NS

total exp: 178 k tonnes





Graph 5: Exports of selected fruit to top destinations (average 2009-2010 in thousand tonnes)

535

93

39

218

33

20

51

12

18

51

32

28

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Russia

Algeria

Saudi Arabia

Russia

Brazil

Norway

Russia

USA

Ukraine

USA

Switzerland

Russia

AP

PLE

SP

EA

RS

KIW

IFR

UIT

CLE

ME

NTI

NE

S



total imp: 186 k tonnes

total exp: 330 tonnes


7

Table 2: Top buyers and top suppliers of F&V to the EU

1999 2011 1999 2011 1999 2011 1999 2011

China 323,7 758,8 17,8% 20,9% Russia 156,8 886,4 8,9% 21,5%Morocco 250,8 565,8 13,8% 15,6% Switzerland 249,0 394,7 14,1% 9,6%Turkey 211,7 321,6 11,7% 8,9% USA 366,6 343,3 20,7% 8,3%Israel 106,2 291,9 5,8% 8,0% Norway 76,1 222,4 4,3% 5,4%Egypt 93,9 267,6 5,2% 7,4% Japan 86,6 159,1 4,9% 3,9%Extra EU-27 1.816,8 3.627,0 100,0% 100,0% Extra EU-27 1.767,4 4.131,5 100,0% 100,0%

1999 2011 1999 2011 1999 2011 1999 2011

Turkey 1.208,2 2.065,6 11,8% 12,3% Russia 163,9 1.232,1 10,7% 28,0%USA 1.103,6 1.678,8 10,8% 10,0% Switzerland 292,6 576,8 19,1% 13,1%Brazil 1.032,5 1.412,2 10,1% 8,4% Norway 109,3 354,8 7,1% 8,1%South Africa 816,6 1.194,6 8,0% 7,1% USA 249,9 236,4 16,3% 5,4%Costa Rica 560,4 1.090,8 5,5% 6,5% Ukraine 17,3 152,5 1,1% 3,5%Extra EU-27 10.222,8 16.831,9 100,0% 100,0% Extra EU-27 1.534,0 4.401,8 100,0% 100,0%

value (in €m) % share

TOP BUYERS OF FRUIT (fresh, processed & nuts)

TOP SUPPLIERS of FRUIT (fresh, processed & nuts)

value (in €m) % share

TOP SUPPLIERS of vegetables (fresh and processed, incl. potatoes)

TOP BUYERS OF VEGETABLES(fresh and processed, incl. potatoes)

% sharevalue (in €m) value (in €m) % share

Origins of imported F&V

• Mediterranean region: key supplier of fresh vegetables to the EU

Most of fresh vegetables are imported from four Mediterranean countries: Morocco, Israel, Turkey, and Egypt. Imports from the region are gradually increasing due to improved market access to the EU under preferential trade agreements with thesecountries. The leading supplier, Morocco, covers around 30% of EU fresh vegetable imports. Since 1999 imports from this country doubled and amounted to €534.4 million in 2011. Half of Moroccan supplies is taken up by tomatoes. Other imported vegetables include sweet peppers, beans, courgettes and cucumbers.

Graph 6 shows the volume of imports of selected fresh vegetables from the top suppliers. For tomatoes, sweet peppers and garlic the three leading suppliers cover around 90% of EU import needs, while in the case of onions – their share is about 60%. As can been seen, China stands out as the EU top supplier of garlic (65% share), and Morocco is the unquestioned leader in tomato supplies (67% share).

Graph 6: Imports of selected fresh vegetables by origin (average 2009-2011 in thousand tonnes)

332

88

22

103

49

35

51

18

3

58

83

43

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Morocco

Turkey

Israel

Israel

Morocco

Turkey

China

Argentina

Egypt

Egypt

New Zealand

Chile

TOM

ATO

ES

SW

EE

TP

EP

PE

RS

GA

RLI

CO

NIO

NS






When it comes to imports of processed vegetables, China comes on top with €674 million worth of products sold to the EU in 2011, double of the value sold in 1999. One fifth of imports is taken up by prepared or preserved tomatoes (tomato paste); another fifth is constituted by processed mushrooms (Agaricus and other). Even though China does not enjoy preferential access to the EU market for processed tomatoes, in value terms imports of this product from China have sprung up eight-fold since 1999 (from €17.6 million up to €134 million) and over nine-fold in volume terms (from 24.6 thousand tonnes up to 232 thousand tonnes). In the case of mushrooms no particular growth was observed, mainly because of existing quotas for processed mushrooms. Other important suppliers of processed vegetables include Turkey (prepared or preserved cucumbers, sweet peppers), Peru (prepared or preserved asparagus), India (dried onions, cucumbers and gherkins) as well the USA (prepared or preserved tomatoes, dried onions).

• The Southern Hemisphere countries: key suppliers of fresh fruit to the EU

As for fruit imports, 20% of the €5 billion worth of fresh fruit (i.e. excluding tropical fruit and nuts) supplies come from South Africa, followed by Chile, Turkey, Argentina and Brazil among others. Mediterranean countries (i.e. Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Israel) are also responsible for around 20% of fresh fruit imports. It is worth noting that from among the Mediterranean countries the most impressive rise in fresh fruit imports in relative terms was observed for Egypt (from €12 million in 1999 to € 187.5 million in 2011), a supplier of fresh table grapes, sweet oranges, fresh strawberries. South Africa and Chile specialize in supplies of such fruit as table grapes and apples. Imports from the Southern Hemisphere countries,

8

rather complement the supplies of fruit on the EU market as there is only a limited overlap with the production season in the EU (e.g. apple exports take place mostly in April – July, while the EU production season starts in September).

Latin American countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia) are major suppliers of tropical fruit to the EU (mainly bananas). See Graph 7 for the volume of imports of selected fruit and the leading suppliers.

Graph 7: Imports of selected fresh fruit by origin (average 2009-2011 in thousand tonnes)

146

176

122

361

121

94

170

167

45

1.329

1.211

795

0 200 400 600 800 1.000 1.200 1.400

New Zealand

Chile

South Africa

South Africa

Egypt

Morocco

South Africa

Chile

Egypt

Ecuador

Colombia

Costa Rica

AP

PLE

SO

RA

NG

ES

GR

AP

ES

BA

NA

NA

S





total imp: 4.646 k tonnes

The US is the biggest supplier of nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts) to the EU market. Over the last decade nut imports from the US doubled to reach around €1.1 billion. The US is followed by Turkey (549 million in 2011) and Iran (around €136.8 million in 2011).

Brazil along with Turkey are the two leading suppliers of processed fruit. The bulk of Brazilian supplies is orange juice, while Turkey supplies mainly processed mixtures of nuts and other seeds, as well dried apricots. These two countries are followed by China, which is gradually increasing its exports to the EU (fivefold increase since 1999) and relative import share. The outstanding products exported by China are apple juice and frozen strawberries. It's worth noting that in the case of apple juice China now covers around 50% of EU import needs (a nine-fold increase since 1999 in value up to €113.3 million in 2011 and seven-fold increase in volume up to 113.9 thousand tonnes), while in 1999 it had only a 10% share in EU imports. In the case of frozen strawberries – the situation is similar – now around half of EU imports of these fruit come from China, while at the beginning of the last decade, China had only a minor share in EU supplies. Frozen strawberry imports from China over the last decade went up from €7.9 million (9.7

thousand tonnes) in 1999 to €66.9 million (67.7 thousand tonnes) in 2011.

It is also worth noting that with all the major suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables, except for Argentina and Brazil, the EU has signed preferential trade agreements3.

For information regarding trade with EU leading buyers/suppliers see tables 2 and 3. The tables present the EU major trading partners in fruit and vegetables and the main traded products for selected partners. The list of buyers includes Saudi Arabia as it is an important buyer of EU processed fruit and vegetables. In 2011 EU exports of processed vegetables and processed fruit to Saudi Arabia reached €99.6 million and €54.6 million, respectively (around 4% of the total exports of processed F&V), almost on a par with Australia – the buyer of €129 million worth of processed vegetables and €39.9 million worth of processed fruit.

3 Euromed Association Agreements (for Morocco, Egypt,

Israel), Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (South Africa); EU-Chile Free Trade Agreement. Turkey forms a Custom Union with the EU, but generally agricultural products are excluded from the scope of the union (there are some limited exceptions).

9

Figure 3: Origin and destination of fruit and vegetables – main partners

Buyers Main products exported by the EU Suppliers Main products imported by the EU

Russia

apples, pears, table grapes, peaches, nectarines, kiwifruit; mixtures of fruit prep. or preserved, frozen sour cherries, jams and fruit jellies, mixtures of fruit juices, fresh tomatoes, (fresh and frozen) potatoes, sweet peppers, mushrooms (Agaricus), prep. or pres. peas, prep. or pres. potatoes and tomatoes

Turkey

hazelnuts, sultanas, dried figs, fresh cherries, prep. or pres. nuts and other seeds,, dried apricots, fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, prep. or pres. cucumbers & gherkins, frozen and prep or pres. sweet peppers, dried tomatoes

Switzerland

table grapes, oranges, strawberries, clementines, melons, nectarines, frozen fruit, fruit juices, fresh tomatoes, sweet pepers, asparagus, cauliflowers, prep. or pres. mixtures of vegs, prep.or pres. tomatoes

USA

almonds, pistachios, walnuts, fresh or dried grapes, grapefruit, dried prunes, orange juice, grapefruit juice, prep. or pres. tomatoes, dried onions

USA

clementines, kiwifruit, chestnuts, almonds, jams, jellies, fruit or veg. juices, sweet peppers, fresh tomatoes,truffles, other fresh or chilled vegs, prep. or pres. tomatoes

Brazil melons, guavas, mangoes, table grapes, apples; orange juice

Norway

fresh apples, table grapes, fresh strawberries, pears, oranges, clementines, apple juice, orange juice, fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, cauliflowers, cabbage lettuce, potatoes,

South Africafresh table grapes, sweet oranges, apples and (fresh and prep. or pres.) pears, prep. or pres. peaches, prep. or pres. apricots

Japan fruit juices and jams & marmalades, prep. or pres. tomatoes Costa Rica bananas, pineapples, melons and

watermelons, pineapple juice

Ukrainefresh apples, kiwifruit, peaches, mandarins, table grapes; fruit juices;(fresh) sweet peppers and tomatoes

Chile table grapes, apples, pears, kiwifruit

Australia jams and marmalades, prep. or preserved potatoes; frozen cooked potatoes China

apple juice, frozen strawberries, frozen fruit and nuts, mandarins, garlic, prep. or preserved tomatoes, prep. or pres. asparagus, prep. or pres. mushrooms

Saudi Arabia fresh and frozen potatoes, prep.or pres. tomatoes, apple juice Morocco fresh tomatoes, beans, sweet peppers,

courgettes

Closer look at Russia: the EU and its competitors

Russia is the EU's primary destination for the exports of fruit and vegetables. Although EU exports have grown impressively over the last decade, the EU relative share in Russia's imports is gradually diminishing as other exporters such as China and Turkey are making their way to the Russian market. The EU's position in the fruit sector is still quite firm, but the competition on the vegetable market seems to be more intense.

• Diminishing EU relative share in Russian imports… to the advantage of China and Turkey

The EU's diminishing share in Russian's imports can be particularly observed in the fresh vegetable sector. Over the last decade Russia's imports from the world

of fresh vegetables4 increased nine-fold (from €217 million in 2000 to 2 billion in 2011). The EU share in these imports is still high (around 30% in value terms)but it is lower than at the beginning of the decade (around 40%). The EU still covers near half of Russian imports of potatoes, but at the beginning of the decade, nearly all Russia's imports were coming from the EU.

By contrast, Turkey's relative share in Russian imports sprang impressively from just 3% in 2000 to over 20%in recent years. With potatoes excluded from the picture as they are exported by Turkey in negligible amounts, in absolute terms Turkey's exports to Russia are catching up with the EU (and in 2009 were even higher). In 2000 Russia imported around €6.2 million

4 Including potatoes

10

worth of fresh vegetables (less potatoes) from Turkey and €57.1 million from the EU. However, in 2011 Turkey sent €370 million worth of fresh vegetable supplies, whereas the EU sold vegetables for nearly €400 million (in 2010 Turkey's sales were almost on a par with the EU – see Graph 8).

Graph 8: Russia's imports of fresh vegetables (the figure does not include potatoes) from its top suppliers (in million €)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

EU China TurkeySource: GTA

The flagship products from Turkey responsible for this impressive performance were tomatoes and cucumbers. In 2000, Russia imported €4.8 million worth of tomatoes (20.3 thousand tonnes) from Turkey, while the EU sold €3.8 million (9 thousand tonnes). In 2011, Turkey supplied €296 million worth of tomatoes (375 thousand tonnes), outstripping the EU 3.5 times, which only managed to sell €85.7 million worth of tomatoes (82.7 thousand tonnes). Thus, in value terms the Turkish share in Russia's imports of tomatoes sprang from just 10% in 2000 to over 50% in 2011, while the EU share went up from 8% to just 15% (see Graph 9). On top of that, China is also advancingon the tomato market: in 2011 its sales of tomatoes to Russia were worth €62 million (72 thousand tonnes), up from €3.9 million (12 thousand tonnes) in 2000.

See box no.1 on Turkish impressive expansion to Russia and other former Soviet Union tomato markets.

BOX no. 1: Turkish expansion to Russia and other former Soviet Union markets

According to FAOSTAT Turkey is the world's 4th producer of tomatoes (behind China, USA and India), producing some 10 million tonnes worth $3.2 billion in 2010 and 4th major exporter (behind the Netherlands, Mexico and Spain). For Turkey tomatoes are a highly important agricultural commodity as they rank second in terms of the value of Turkish agricultural production. Over the last decade Turkey's (fresh) tomato exports to the world have sprung impressively from 120 thousand tonnes in 2000 to 576 thousand tonnes in 2011, which corresponds to the eightfold increase in

value (from €41 million to €308 million in 2011). This reflects Turkey's impressive expansion to Russia and other former Soviet Union countries. Russia is Turkey's top destination for tomato exports, taking a 58% share in total Turkey's tomato exports. EU27 comes second with a 14% share in Turkish exports. At the beginning of the last decade Turkey supplied Russia with some 35 thousand tonnes of tomatoes while in 2011 the volume sold went up to impressive 3355 thousand tonnes. Ukraine is also seeing more Turkish tomatoes on its markets than a decade ago. From almost null sales in 2000, Turkey now is supplying Ukraine with over 40 thousand tonnes. See graph on the left.

5 The discrepancy in figures is that imports (as declared by Russia) do not equal exports (as declared by Turkey) as the

periods of registration of the incoming and outgoing amounts may differ.

Turkey's tomato exports to Russia and other former Soviet Union countries

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Russia EU27 Ukraine Moldova

in tonnes

In 2011: 335 k tonnesor €183.9 million

Source: GTA

11

Graph 9: Turkey's increasing share in Russian imports of tomatoes (value terms)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Turkey China EU27 OthersSource: GTA

As for cucumbers, the situation is quite comparable. In 2011, Turkey sold near 2.5 times more cucumbers than the EU (in 2010: 5.5 times more), jumping from only 1.2 thousand tonnes in 2000 (valued at some €300 thousand), i.e. from less than what the EU used to sell at the beginning of the decade to 48 thousand tonnes (€38.8 million) in 2011. The EU has also been surpassed by China which in 2011 earned €24 million on the sales of some 28 thousand tonnes of cucumbers (see Graph 10) while the EU managed to sell some 19 thousand tonnes worth €22.5 million. It's worth noting also that not only the EU, China and Turkey are competing on the Russian market: it is Iranwhich rises now as the leading supplier of cucumbers on the Russian market. From negligent sales at the beginning of the decade it now supplies around 60 thousand tonnes of cucumbers to Russia.

Graph 10: EU diminishing share in Russia's cucumber imports (value terms)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

EU27 China Turkey OthersSource: GTA

The EU is still Russia's top supplier of processed vegetables accounting for around half of its imports, although at the beginning of the last its share in Russian imports stood at 70%. China is lagging behind but is gradually expanding (taking up now over 20% of Russian imports from just 2% in 2000). With its growing exports of tomato paste (HS 2002) to Russia it

managed to outstrip EU sales of this product in the middle of the decade. At present China accounts for about half of Russian tomato paste imports, while in 2000 its share was a mere 2%. EU though is still doing quite well – its share in that product over the last decade has been hovering between 20 and 30%. In absolute terms, Russian imports of tomato paste from the EU (China) increased from €8.7 million (€1 million) in 2000 to €24 million (€56 million) in 2011.

As for fruit, the EU position on the Russian market of its top fruit – apples and pears – seems rather firm –the EU is covering more than half of Russian import needs. Another important import product, however,fresh grapes, faces competition with Turkey. Starting with a similar import share at the beginning of the decade (4%), the EU managed to increase its exports to cover around 10% of Russian import needs while Turkey has now expanded to make up for around 40% of Russian imports in the recent years.

The EU is still holding quite a strong position on processed fruit (responsible for around one third of Russian imports). It is China, however, which managed to win the Russian market of apple juice. Over the last decade China has made an impressive surge from barely €341 thousand worth of apple juice exports in 2000 to €61.4 million in 2011 (€41.2 million in 2010), thus accounting for over half of Russian imports of apple juice. In the same period the EU increased its exports of this product from €1.4 million to only €3.6 million in 2011.

• Exports of F&V an easy target for non-tariffbarriers relating to SPS concerns.

The perishable nature of fresh fruit and vegetables and their suitability for direct consumption make them an easy target for the imposition of non-tariff barriers due to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)concerns. These barriers may disrupt the flows of trade considerably. Last year saw major perturbations of trade with Russia, the EU primary destination for fresh vegetables, when Russia imposed an import ban on fresh vegetables from a number of EU countries, following an outbreak of the E.coli (EHEC) crisis in the EU. This had an effect on monthly exports of a number of vegetables, including tomatoes, onions, white and red cabbage, aubergines, sweet peppers. However, due to good export performance in the first half of 2011, annual trade statistics show that exports of fresh vegetables to Russia in 2011 were higher than in 2010. Box no. 2 provides some statistics on the effect of the E.coli crisis on export sales of fresh vegetables to Russia.

12

BOX no. 2: Impact of the E.coli crisis on the exports of fresh vegetables to Russia

The year 2011 saw major perturbations of trade with Russia, the EU primary destination for fresh vegetables, when Russia imposed an import ban on fresh vegetables from a number of EU countries, following an outbreak of e-coli crisis in the EU. Effective temporarily in June, the measure caused a dramatic drop of EU exports of fresh vegetables (excluding potatoes) from €54.7 million in May to €13.9 in June 2011. Sales in June 2011 were also more than two times lower than in June 2010. However, despite this major drop in June sales, the measure had no particular effect on the annual performance of EU exports. In fact, export sales in 2011 (€ 454 million) were 8% higher than in 2010. Moreover, the total figure for 1st half of 2011 also shows a significant growth as compared with the 1st half of 2010 (€281 million and €227.4 million respectively). As the graph below shows, exports in 2011 followed a pattern similar to that in 2010 (more impressive sales in the first half of the year than in the second one), except that sales in 2011 started off at a much higher level than at the beginning of 2010 (€ 40.8 million in Jan 2011 compared to €23.6 million in 2010). After a drop in June, exports rebounded in the following months to reach at the end of the year a level comparable with that of the previous year (€50.1 million in Dec 2010 and €48.6 million in Dec 2011). The vegetables which suffered the biggest slump in June sales as compared with the preceding month and June 2010 included tomatoes, onions, white and red cabbage, aubergines and sweet peppers.

Closer look at China: top world exporter of F&V and important EU partner

China is the unquestionable leader in world exports of fruit and vegetables. It is no. 1 exporter of fresh vegetables (followed by Mexico, the US, and the EU) and the 5th exporter of fresh fruit (behind the US, EU, Turkey and Chile).

Graph 11 shows the impressive development of Chinese exports6 of both fresh and processed vegetables reaching a record high of €12.8 billion in 2011, three times more than in 2002. Exports of processed fruit and vegetables contribute to more than 60% of that figure. Exports of fresh vegetables reached €2.7 billion in 2011, i.e. 30% more than EU exports in that year, while fresh fruit sales amounted to near €2 billion.

75% of imports in the whole F&V sector are fresh fruit(including nuts). China, however, seems to be self sufficient when it comes to the supplies of fresh vegetables. Its global imports (some €3.2 million in 2011) are insignificant compared to the total value of imported fresh fruit (€2 billion).

6 The figures do not include products under headings HS

0713 and 0714 for comparison purposes.

Graph 11: China's trade balance in F&V (fresh and processed)

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

mill

ion

EUR

TOTAL IMPORTS TOTAL EXPORTS BALANCESource: GTA

Although Chinese export offer is quite wide, Chinese export performance in each of the F&V categories is reliant on a limited number of products. The leader in fresh vegetable exports is garlic with an over 50% share in fresh vegetable exports. In 2011, China managed to sell some 1.7 million tonnes of that vegetable to world markets worth some €1.5 billion (only 4% of the volume went to the EU). Exports of fresh fruit are dominated by apples, pears and mandarins, while apple juice, processed tomatoes, dried and prepared or preserved mushrooms stood out in the processed products category. See Graph 12for details regarding the structure of Chinese exports.

EU27 monthly exports of fresh vegetables to Russia (in thousand €)

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000

80.000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

20102011


13

Graph 12: Structure of Chinese exports of F&V (fresh and processed)

garlic13%

mushrooms (processed)

9%tomato paste

6%apple juice6%

other51%

citrus fruit (processed)

2%mandarins

3%

onions2%

apples6%

pears1%

strawberry(frozen)1%

Avg (2009-11) = €10.6 bnSource: GTA(chapter 07, 08 and 20 excluding HS 0713 and 0714

It's worth noting that China is the world's biggest producer of apples and tomatoes. According to FAOSTAT, in volume terms Chinese production of apples in 2010 increased by more than half from 2000 (up to 33.3 million tonnes), while the tomato production almost doubled in that period (up to 41.8 million tonnes).

To achieve this outstanding performance, China has substantially reformed its agricultural policy. The reforms included abolition of agricultural tax on farmers, thereby encouraging farmers to specialize in higher profit crops such as fruit, provision ofagricultural subsidies for the first time in history directly to farmers (also to the apple and tomato industry). Developing the tomato processing industry was also set as priority by the Chinese government. 7

• China's impressive expansion into Russian and American apple juice market

Chinese impressive rise as an apple producer and the development of the processing industry made it a key supplier of apple juice to Russia and the US. From barely €341 thousand worth of apple juice exports to Russia, it went up to €61.4 million in 2011. In the same period the EU increased its exports to Russia from €1.4 million to only €3.6 million in 2011. As a result, at present China covers over half of Russian imports of apple juice while at the beginning of the decade its share in Russia's apple juice imports stood at barely 3%.

Chinese expansion into the US market is equally impressive. At the beginning of the last decade the EU

7 See LEI report of May 2010,"Apple and tomato chains in

China and the EU",

share in the US total imports of apple juice was around 30%, while China only covered around 13% of US imports. In 2011 the situation reversed – the EU share shrank to less than 1% while the imports from China soared impressively to cover over 70% of US import needs in 2011 (from €40 million in 2000 to €360 million in 2011). The EU share in US total juice imports went down from 14% in 2000 to 4% in 2011. At the same time, China increased its share in US imports from almost 5% to nearly 30% in 2011.

• EU and China: F&V trade balance overwhelmingly negative for the EU

The EU is China's main destination for exports of major products such as tomato paste, frozen strawberries, and apple juice (the US being the top buyer of the latter). China has become the EU's majorsupplier of processed fruit and vegetables, covering altogether around 18% of EU processed F&V imports. It stands out as number one in EU imports of processed vegetables. On the whole, however, China's share in total EU fruit and vegetable imports is not particularly impressive: it covers only around 6% of EU imports of F&V.

As shown by Graph 13, the gap between EU importsand EU exports to China has widened considerably over the last decade and is now oscillating around €1.2 billion. This is due to increased imports of processed fruit and vegetables (in particular tomato paste, apple juice and frozen fruit) from China. Although China is increasing its supplies from the EU (EU exports rose from just €7 million in 2000 to some €88 million in 2011), their share in the total Chinese imports is rather negligible (around 3%).

Graph 13: EU-China trade in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (in million €).

-1.500

-1.000

-500

0

500

1.000

1.500

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

EU EXPORT EU IMPORT EU BALANCE WITH CHINASource: Eurostat-COMEXT

14

China imports mostly processed products from the EU, the majority being processed fruit (frozen fruit, fruit juices). Imports of fresh vegetables from the EU are rather negligible. However, some opportunities seem to exist for fresh fruit. From around €731.4 thousand in 2001, EU sales rose to €2.6 million in 2010 and jumped impressively in 2011 to the level of over €6.7 million. The gain was recorded mainly for kiwifruit.

It's worth noting that a country which got a much better position on the Chinese market is the US supplying China with around €500 million worth of fruit and vegetables (around 20% of total Chinese imports of F&V). The US is providing China mainly with fresh fruit (70% of US F&V supplies to China), such as mandarins, grapes, apples as well as nuts.

CONCLUSIONS

Over the last decade the EU has been constantly recording a trade deficit in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, totalling €9.8 billion in 2011. The deficit grows to €11.9 billion, if trade in nuts is included. This figure is mainly due to the deficit in trade in the fruit category. However, the deficit has been mainly deepened in the tropical fruit group, in particular due to increased imports of bananas and pineapples. Other fresh fruit, such astable grapes and oranges from the Southern hemisphere countries have also seen growth on the import side but it was compensated by increased exports of other fresh fruit such as apples and pears. In contrast, trade in vegetables, both fresh and processed is rather balanced as a surge in imports of vegetables from Mediterranean countries, in particular Morocco, has coincided with a boom in exports of fresh vegetables to Russia.

However, although exports of fresh fruit and vegetables have risen impressively over the last decade to our top partner, Russia, the EU relative share in Russian imports is diminishing as Turkey and China are finding their way to the Russian market. Turkey's expansion in tomato exports into former Soviet Union countries, in particular into Russia, has been particularly impressive. Turkey is currently supplying Russia with three times as many tomatoes as the EU. The EU also faces competition from Turkey and China on the Russian cucumber market. Sales from the two countries to Russia in the most recent years surpassed the EU sales, although a decade ago the EU was the dominant supplier of cucumbers to Russia.

In the context of trade with Russia this MAP also finds that in spite of the import ban on imports of fresh vegetables from the EU due to the E.coli crisis in June 2011, total EU exports of vegetables to Russia were still higher than the 2010 exports. This is due to good EU performance in the first half of 2011. The vegetables which suffered the biggest slump in June 2011 sales as compared with the preceding month and June 2010 included tomatoes, onions, white and red cabbage, aubergines and sweet peppers.

China, a world leader in exports of fruit and vegetables which has tripled its exports of F&V to the world in the last decade, deserves particular attention. On the world scene it excels in the sales of apple juice. From a negligent share at the beginning of the last decade it now covers more than half of the US and Russian imports of apple juice. It also accounts for around half of EU imports of apple juice. China is also the EU top supplier of processed fruit and vegetables, in particular of processed tomatoes and mushrooms. It is worth noting that in spite of lack of preferential access to the EU market, imports of processed tomatoes over the last decade have grown considerably.

This newsletter does not necessarily represent the official views of the European Commission

Contact: DG Agriculture & Rural Development: Agricultural Trade Policy Analysis unit.

Tel: +32-2-2991111/ email: [email protected].

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/publi/map/index_en.htm

© European Communities, 2012Reproduction authorised provided the source is acknowledged

2012-07-26 map fruit and veg trade

Documents