At the same time, EU imports remained roughly stable, so the net agricultural trade balance stretched to a surplus of €18.5 billion.
These are the main conclusions of the overview of the EU's agricultural trade performance in 2013 just published by the European Commission.
While the EU is a renowned exporter of high value-added final products, the export growth in 2013 can be largely attributed to commodities, notably wheat and barley, with exports to Middle East-North African countries booming in 2013.
Overall, the fastest-growing export markets for EU agricultural products were China and Saudi Arabia, although the US continued to be the most important destination for EU agri-food exports.
