While that number may seem small compared to the business generated by trade in the automotive or energy industries, the agri-food sector is of particular importance to the EU economy and, more importantly, the economy of millions of families.

EU exports of agricultural and food products to third countries – not including fish and fisheries products – valued more than €123.2 billion in 2015, while imports stood at around €114.1bn. This data from Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics office, shows that the EU has an agricultural trade surplus of more than €9bn.