The EU's trade in animal products and the effects of several free trade agreements

Abstract

The global trade in animal products, excluding trade between European Union (EU) Member States, has grown significantly over the past two decades, reaching 226 billion euros in 2023. This represents approximately 17 % of total agricultural and agri-food trade. With a trade surplus of nearly 50 billion euros in 2024, the EU is the region in the world with the largest surplus for animal products. Despite the implementation of several free trade agreements, the EU’s trade balance has improved markedly over the past twenty years, particularly thanks to dairy products and pork. While trade agreements with the United Kingdom and Canada have been beneficial to European trade, more restrictive measures were introduced in 2025 with Ukraine to curb a substantial rise in exports (notably for poultry) since the outbreak of the war.