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Over 12 month of the Russian ban being in force (August 2014 - July 2015) , total EU agri - food exports to third countries increased in value by 5.7% compared to one year ago . After a very positive performance during the first half of the year 2015 , with a record month in March (at almost €12 billion), also the second half has started off with a positive trend: July 2015 exports recorded +8% compared to July 2014.
Over the entire period since the embargo started, the EU agri - food sector has managed to compensate the losses in export sales to Russia by increasing exports to other main destinations and alternative markets . Major gains in export values have been achieved in the US (+16%) , China (+33%) , Switzerland (+5%) and in a number of key Asian markets, such as Hong Kong (19%) and the Republic of Korea (+29%). On the other hand compared to the prior year, overall EU agri - food exports to Russia between August 2014 and July 2015 decreased from € 11 billion to € 6. 3 billion ( - 4 3 %).
Analysing EU exports to third countries of the sectors affected by the embargo, in the period August 2014 - July 2015, export values of bovine and poultry products increased by 23% and 5% respectively while the value of pig meat exports was in line with the previous year. Concerning dairy products, the value of butter exports fully recovered from the initial difficulties and achieved +3 % (compared to the 12 months period a year ago) due to an increase on Middle East markets. For cheese and milk powders, however, export values still lag behind : -14%, -10%, and -24% respectively. Also, concerning fruit and vegetables, the value of exports registered is still around 12% lower compared to the period one year before
Tuesday September 22, 2015/ DG Agriculture/ European Union.
http://ec.europa.eu
