EU aims to increase its food exports to China, despite trade tensions

The EU aims to increase its food exports to China despite trade tensions. During a visit to China this week, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, says his objective is to boost exports of agricultural products to the world’s second-largest economy and keep food above the escalating trade tensions between China and the EU, Reuters reports.

“In food trade, there are no barriers to Chinese imports. My intention is to avoid, as much as possible, agriculture being penalized for issues in other sectors, which can sometimes happen,” said Janusz Wojciechowski in an interview given on Monday in Shanghai.

The visit of the European Commissioner, which will last until Friday, comes at a time when China and Europe are slowly heading towards a crisis situation, as the rise of protectionism threatens to escalate into a full-blown trade war, warned Jens Eskelund, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China last week.

Unlike sectors such as photovoltaic panels and new eco-friendly vehicles, the agricultural sector of the European Union has recorded a surplus from trade with China. Additionally, unlike other sectors, free trade in food remains “a very important tool to ensure food security everywhere,” which is why Western sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine were not applied to agri-food products, said Commissioner Wojciechowski.

Last year, EU exports of agri-food products to China amounted to €14.6 billion, down 8% compared to 2022, while EU imports from China fell by 15% to €8.3 billion.

Wojciechowski believes there is room for increasing EU exports to China for a wide range of agri-food products, from poultry and pork to beef and even dairy products, a segment that is already in an advanced stage of penetration in China.

“We can see an expansion of the middle class of consumers looking for high-quality food. This is an opportunity for European food producers to increase their exports,” said the European official.