Although the WTO has assessed the year 2013 to be slightly more positive than 2012 in terms of world trade performance and signs of global trade recovery could be seen, world trade growth did not go beyond 2.1%. The lower than expected growth was driven by slowing demand in the developing countries although demand for certain agricultural products remains robust. Overall agricultural trade performance was a reflection of the global economic context: many main agricultural traders had to face stagnant or lower levels of exports and imports.
As the other main traders struggled to keep up their exports, the EU came first in the ranking of world top agricultural exporters, even despite the appreciation of the euro against major currencies. This was achieved greatly due to increased volumes of cereal exports though higher prices for some key export products (meat and dairy products) also contributed. Since 2010, when the EU switched to being a net exporter of agricultural products, the trade surplus has been growing constantly, hitting a new record every year and reaching €18.6 billion in 2013.
EU agricultural imports, which remained stagnant in 2013, partly reflect the fact that EU demand has not fully recovered after the economic crisis. On the other hand, prices for many commodities also remained low, which kept the import value down