Agriculture : a partnership between Europe and farmers.
Date: 2014-06-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: agricultural production, common agricultural policy, dissemination of EU information, farming sector, food production, public awareness campaign

T H E   E U R O P E A N  
U N I O N  
E X P L A I N E D

Agriculture

A partnership 
between 
Europe and 
farmers

T he  E U’s  c om m o n  ag r ic ul t ur al  p o l ic y 
( CAP ):  fo r  ou r  foo d,  fo r  o ur 
c ou nt ry si de,  for   o ur  e nvir o nm en t

CONTENTS 

Why we need a common  
agricultural policy .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3

How the agricultural policy 
works  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5

What the EU does  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8

Europe’s agriculture  
towards 2020: meeting  
the challenges ahead  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15

Find out more  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16

THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains  
what the EU does in different policy areas,  
why the EU is involved and what the results are.

You can see which ones are available to download at:
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm

How the EU works
Europe 2020: Europe’s growth strategy
The founding fathers of the EU

Agriculture 

Borders and security
Budget
Climate action
Competition
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs
Development and cooperation
Digital agenda
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth and sport
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy
Humanitarian aid
Internal market
Justice, citizenship, fundamental rights
Maritime affairs and fisheries
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport

The EU explained: Agriculture

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript updated in April 2014

Cover and page 2 picture: © Phovoir

16 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-37537-8
doi:10.2775/45239

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 
2014

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

3

Why we need a common agricultural policy

Challenges for agriculture for over  
50 years

Launched in 1962, the EU’s common agricultural 
policy (CAP) is a partnership between agriculture 
and society and between Europe and its farmers. Its 
main aims are:

The CAP is about our food

To meet these challenges the EU has created and 
implemented the common agricultural policy (CAP).

Its purpose is to set the conditions that will allow 
farmers to fulfil their multiple functions in society — 
the first of which is to produce food.

 — to improve agricultural productivity, so that 

consumers have a stable supply of affordable 
food; 

Thanks to the CAP, Europe’s citizens enjoy food security. 
As a society, we can be sure that our farmers produce 
the food we need.

They provide an impressive variety of abundant, 
affordable, safe and good quality products. The EU is 
known throughout the world for its food and culinary 
traditions. Due to its exceptional agricultural resources 
the EU could and should play a key role in ensuring food 
security of the world at large.

Europeans can be sure that farmers produce  
the food they need. 

 — to ensure that EU farmers can make a 

reasonable living; 

 — Now, 50 years later, the EU has to address 

more challenges: 

 — food security — at the global level, food 

production will have to double in order to feed 
a world population of 9 billion people in 2050; 

 — climate change and sustainable management 

of natural resources; 

 — looking after the countryside across the EU and 

keeping the rural economy alive;

The CAP is a common policy for all the Member 
States of the European Union. It is managed and 
funded at European level from the resources of the 
EU annual budget. 

The EU has 500 million consumers and they all need a 
reliable supply of healthy and nutritious food at an 
affordable price. The economic environment is set to 
remain uncertain and unpredictable. Moreover, there are 
many current and future challenges including global 
competition, economic and financial crises, climate 
change and rising costs of inputs such as fuel and 
fertiliser.

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AGRICULTURE 
 
4

The CAP is about our countryside

The CAP is about our environment

Farming is not just about food. It is about rural 
communities and the people who live in them. It is about 
our countryside and its precious natural resources.

In all EU Member States, farmers keep the countryside 
alive and maintain the rural way of life. If there were no 
farms or farmers, our hamlets, villages and market 
towns would be profoundly affected — for the worse.

Many jobs in the countryside are linked to farming. 
Farmers need machinery, buildings, fuel, fertilisers and 
healthcare for their animals. Many people have jobs in 
these ‘upstream’ sectors. Other people are busy in 
‘downstream’ operations — such as preparing, 
processing and packaging food. Still others are involved 
in food storage, transport and retailing.

All in all, farming and food production are essential 
elements of our economy and society. With its 
28 Member States, the EU has some 12 million farmers 
with a further 4 million people working in the food 
sector. The farming and food sectors together provide 
7% of all jobs and generate 6% of European gross 
domestic product. 

Farmers manage the countryside for the benefit of us all.

Our countryside is not in its original natural state. It has 
been shaped by farming over the centuries. Farming has 
created our diverse environment and its varied 
landscapes. Our countryside provides the habitat for a 
great diversity of fauna and flora. This biodiversity is 
critical for the sustainable development of the 
countryside.

Farmers manage the countryside for the benefit of us 
all. They supply public goods — the most important of 
which is the good care and maintenance of our soils, 
our landscapes and our biodiversity. The market does 
not pay for these public goods. To remunerate farmers 
for this service to society as a whole, the EU provides 
farmers with income support.

Farmers can be adversely affected by climate change. 
The CAP provides them with financial assistance to 
adjust their farming methods and systems to cope with 
the effects of a changing climate. 

Farmers are the first to realise the need to care for our 
natural resources — after all farmers rely upon them 
for their day-to-day living. To avoid negative side 
effects of some farming practices, the EU provides 
incentives to farmers to work in a sustainable and 
environmentally friendly manner.

In effect, farmers have a double challenge: to produce 
food whilst simultaneously protecting nature and 
safeguarding biodiversity.

Environmentally sustainable farming, which uses 
natural resources prudently, is essential for our food 
production and for our quality of life — today, tomorrow 
and for future generations.

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THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
Europe’s agriculture through time

1957
The Treaty of Rome creates the European 
Economic Community (the precursor of today’s EU), 
between six western European countries.

1962
The common agricultural policy is born. The CAP is 
foreseen as a common policy, with the objectives to 
provide affordable food for EU citizens and a fair 
standard of living for farmers.

1984
The CAP falls victim to its own success. Farms 
become so productive that they grow more food 
than needed. The surpluses are stored and lead to 
‘food mountains’. Several measures are introduced 
to bring production levels closer to what the market 
needs.

5

1992
The CAP shifts from market support to producer 
support. Price support is scaled down, and replaced 
with direct aid payments to farmers. They are 
encouraged to be more environmentally friendly. 
The reform coincides with the 1992 Rio Earth 
Summit, which launches the principle of sustainable 
development.

2003
The CAP provides income support. A new CAP 
reform cuts the link between subsidies and 
production. Farmers now receive an income support 
payment, on condition that they look after the 
farmland and fulfil environmental, animal welfare 
and food safety standards.

2013
The CAP is reformed to strengthen the 
competitiveness of the sector, promote sustainable 
farming and innovation and support jobs and 
growth in rural areas. 

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How do we protect nature 
and the biodiversity? 

AGRICULTURE 
 
6

Why is agriculture policy set at 
European level?

The main aims of the CAP are: to improve agricultural 
productivity, so that consumers have a stable supply of 
affordable food, and to ensure that EU farmers can 
make a reasonable living.

All the Member States share these two objectives, 
neither of which can be attained without providing 
financial support to farming and rural areas. A collective 
EU policy makes for better use of budgetary resources 
than would the coexistence of 28 national policies. 

There is one big European market for agricultural 
products, in which a common approach towards 
supporting agriculture ensures fair conditions for 
farmers competing in the internal European market and 
globally.

There can be no doubt that without a common policy, 
each EU member state would proceed with national 
policies with variable scope and with different degrees 
of public intervention. A policy set at the European level 
ensures common rules in a single market; addresses 
market volatility where needed; safeguards the progress 
made in recent reforms towards increased 
competitiveness of European agriculture and provides 
for a common trade policy allowing the EU to negotiate 
as one, vis-à-vis our global trading partners. 

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Agriculture is one of the few 
areas where a common 
policy is mainly financed by 
the EU budget, rather than 
by national budgets.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
7

How the agricultural policy works

The CAP can be described as having three dimensions: 
market support, income support and rural development. 
The three dimensions are interconnected and overall 
sustainability depends on the ability of the three 
dimensions to act collectively.

Concerning market support, agriculture is more 
weather- and climate-dependent than many other 
sectors. Furthermore, in agriculture there is an 
inevitable time gap between demand signals and the 
possibility for supply responses, and small changes in 
the amounts produced can have big effects on prices as 
our consumption of food is largely constant compared 
to other products.

The first two dimensions — market support and income 
support — are solely funded by the EU budget, whilst the 
rural development dimension is based on multiannual 
programming and is co-financed by by Member States.

A policy financed by the EU budget

The budget dedicated to the CAP is considered by some 
people to be a controversial issue. For instance, the 
statement ‘half the EU budget is dedicated to the CAP’ 
is frequently voiced. Such a statement does not take 
proper consideration of the EU budgetary mechanism or 
the objectives of the CAP.

These business uncertainties justify the important role 
that the public sector plays in ensuring stability for 
farmers.

A number of market instruments are used to provide 
market safety nets.

It is true that the policy requires about 40% of the  
EU budget. This arises because the common  
agricultural policy is one of the few areas where one 
common policy is financed mainly by the EU. In 
contrast, most other public policies are financed 
principally by the Member States. 

It is therefore important to place the budget of  
the common agricultural policy within the context of  
all public expenditure within the EU. When seen in  
this context, the budget of the policy is small – it 
constitutes only 1% of all public expenditure in the EU. 
In 2014, this was about €58 billion. 

Finally, as a share of the EU budget, the budget of  
the common agricultural policy has decreased very 
sharply over the past 30 years, from almost 75% to 
around 40%. 

During this period 18 new Member States have joined 
the Union (more than doubling the number of farmers) 
and as a result the spending per farmer is much lower 
today than in the past. 

Regarding the second dimension — income support 
— direct payments not only provide farmers with a 
basic income but also ensure the provision of 
environmental public goods.

The third dimension is rural development . National 
(sometimes regional) programmes of development are 
established to address the specific needs and 
challenges facing rural areas.

Whilst Member States compose their programmes from 
the same list of measures, they have the flexibility to 
address the issues of most concern within their 
respective territory reflecting their specific economic, 
natural and structural conditions. As an integral part of 
rural development programmes, the ‘Leader approach’ 
encourages local people to address local issues.

As regards the funding of the CAP, there is a 
predetermined maximum budget (as with all EU 
policies) which is fixed for 7 years at a time. This 
ensures a ceiling on expenditure but also predictability 
for farmers as to what is available. Successive policy 
reforms have improved the efficiency of the tools 
available. Gradually the least efficient policy tools have 
been replaced with more efficient instruments, allowing 
the CAP to better respond to the needs of farmers as 
well as to the requirements and needs of consumers. 

AGRICULTURE8

What the EU does

The CAP is about our farmers

HERE’S WHAT OUR FARMERS PRODUCE EACH YEAR

Average for 2009–11.

Cereals: 300 million tonnes

Sugar: 17 million tonnes

Oilseeds: 20 million tonnes

Olive oil: 2 million tonnes

Apples: 10 million tonnes

Pears: 2 million tonnes

Citrus fruit: 11 million tonnes

Wine: 160 million hectolitres

Beef and veal: 8 million tonnes

Pigmeat: 20 million tonnes

Poultrymeat: 12 million tonnes

Eggs: 7 million tonnes

Milk: 150 million tonnes

communities in vulnerable areas remain in good 
economic health and do not gradually disappear.

Thanks to the CAP, farmers produce 
what consumers want

EU citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of the CAP. 
There is always plenty of food in our shops and 
supermarkets at prices which are generally affordable. 
In most EU countries today, the average family spends 
around 15 % of its monthly income on food. The 
proportion is half what it was in 1962. 

Farmers are very important economic players in rural 
areas which the EU cannot afford to lose. Fundamental, 
instinctive farming skills are not learned from the pages 
of a book, but are passed down from one generation to 
the next.

However, many young people no longer see farming as 
an attractive profession, with the result that there are 
fewer farmers. In the 1960s, the original six EU 
countries had 6 million farmers, but since then the 
number has more than halved.

This is why the CAP helps young people to get started in 
farming with funds to buy land, machinery and 
equipment. It also provides grants to train both new 
entrants and established farmers in the latest technical 
production methods.

Encouraging young farmers and ensuring continuity 
from one generation to the next is a real challenge for 
rural development in the EU.

In some parts of Europe, farming is particularly difficult 
— as in hilly, mountainous and/or remote areas. It is 
important to keep communities alive in these regions. 
The CAP provides funds to ensure that rural 

RELATIVE SITUATION OF FARM INCOME COMPARED TO 
NON-AGRICULTURAL INCOME

40 % 

100 %

The figures are the EU average of entrepreneurial income in 
agriculture per non-salaried annual work unit as a percentage of 
average wages in the total economy per full-time equivalent.

Source: European Commission.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
9

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Farmers work more and 
more to protect the 
environment and the beauty 
of the landscapes. 

We enjoy a secure supply of high-quality food from our 
farmers. Europe is considered as a world leader in 
sectors like olive oil, dairy products, meats, wines and 
spirits. Furthermore, we can easily find out how and 
where our food was produced because the EU’s 
labelling and traceability rules give consumers the 
information they need to make an informed choice 
when buying their food.

Many EU consumers prefer local or regional products 
where these are available. Traditional specialities are 
more and more in demand. As a result, farmers are 
increasingly selling directly to consumers at farmers’ 
markets and are processing their own products to add 
local value.

Farmers act as managers of the 
countryside

Around half the EU’s land is farmed. This makes 
farming very important indeed for our natural 
environment. Farming has contributed over the 
centuries to creating and maintaining a variety of 
valuable semi-natural habitats. Today, these shape the 
many landscapes throughout the EU and are home to a 
rich variety of wildlife. Farming and nature influence 
each other. Thanks to the successive reforms of the 
CAP, our farming methods are becoming more 
environmentally friendly.

Today’s farmers therefore have two roles – producing 
our food and managing the countryside. In the second 
of these they provide public goods. The whole of society 
– present and future – benefits from a countryside that 
is carefully managed and well looked after. It is only 
fair that farmers are rewarded by the CAP for providing 
us with this valuable public good. 

Following the 2013 reform, in order to receive their full 
entitlement of income support payments, farmers have 
to adopt environmentally-sustainable farming methods. 
In practice this means that they must maintain 
permanent grassland areas (grass is good at absorbing 
carbon dioxide, which helps in the fight against climate 
change); they must grow a minimum number of crops 
and must farm 5 % of their arable area in a manner 
that promotes biodiversity (known as an ecological 
focus area). Farmers may also receive additional 
support if they adopt more strict agri-environmental 
farming practices.

In addition, the CAP promotes agricultural practices 
such as safeguarding the scenic value of the landscape 
– in line with what the public wants.

Protecting biodiversity and wildlife habitats, managing 
water resources and dealing with climate change are 
other priorities that farmers are required to respect. 

AGRICULTURE 
FARMERS ARE BECOMING OLDER

65 years 
or more
30 %

Less than
35 years
8 %

From 
35–44 years
17 %

From 55–64 years
24 %

From 
45–54 years
23 %

Source: Eurostat, 2010.

This helps prevent rural depopulation in the face of few 
job opportunities and high unemployment. Public 
services — such as schools and healthcare amenities 
— are preserved and improved, giving people a good 
reason to remain in the countryside and bring up their 
children there.

10

In this regard, the EU’s Natura 2000 programme is 
relevant. This is a network of some 25 000 sites – 
covering about one-fifth of the territory of the EU – and 
is aimed at protecting Europe’s biodiversity. The sites 
are not ‘fenced-off’ protected areas but are open and 
are often dependent on sustainable human activities 
and land-use that have shaped and maintained them 
over the years. Many sites are on farmland and the 
farmers undertake to manage the land in a specific 
manner so that the biodiversity is maintained. 

The rural economy and way of life 
depend on farming

Although farming is the principal economic activity in 
most rural areas, farmers do more than grow food. They 
often process their products and sell them directly to 
consumers. Indeed, the 2013 reform promotes the 
direct sale of food products — for instance via farmers’ 
markets. 

About half the population of the EU lives in rural areas. 
Without farming there would be little to keep many 
communities alive and hold them together. If farming 
were to disappear, in many areas there would be a 
problem of land abandonment.

This is why the CAP gives farmers financial assistance 
to ensure that they continue working the land and to 
create additional jobs through the renovation of their 
villages, landscape preservation or cultural heritage 
projects and many other tasks directly or indirectly 
associated with farming and the rural economy.

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Younger people are needed 
in farming. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
11

Efficient and competitive 
farmers are needed  
to create growth and 
employment in Europe. 

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The dynamism of small family farms will have to be 
reinforced. Many farmers are over the age of 55 and 
will retire from active farming at some point in the 
future. The EU recognises that the age structure of 
farmers has become a matter of concern. Helping 
young farmers get started is a policy ‘must’ if Europe’s 
rural areas are successfully to meet the many 
challenges that face them.

In the face of the food surpluses which resulted, the 
emphasis has changed. Now the CAP helps farmers to:

•  farm in a manner that reduces emissions of 

greenhouse gases;

•  use eco-friendly farming techniques;

•  meet public health, environmental and animal welfare 

standards;

The CAP drives productivity and 
innovation

•  produce and market the food specialities of their 

region;

The CAP helps farmers to be more productive and to 
improve their technical skills.

•  make more productive use of forests and woodland;
•  develop new uses for farm products in sectors like 

cosmetics, medicine and handicrafts.

In its early years, the CAP encouraged farmers to use 
modern machinery and new techniques, including 
chemical fertilisers and plant protection products. These 
were necessary because the priority at that time was to 
grow more food for the population.

The policy was very effective. Productivity greatly 
increased. Crop yields rose dramatically but have been 
stable since 2000. In the years to come, research and 
innovation will be crucial for farmers to produce more 
from less.

MORE EFFICIENT FARMERS: WHEAT YIELDS IN THE ORIGINAL 
SIX MEMBER STATES

2000

2010

1990

1980

7

6

5

4

3

1962

Yield in tonnes per hectare. Source: European Commission

AGRICULTURE 
12

CONCENTRATION ALONG THE FOOD CHAIN: NUMBER OF ENTERPRISES

Farmers
12 000 000

Figures are for 2010 (agriculture) and 2009 (other sectors). Source: Eurostat.

Food manufacturers
250 000

Wholesalers
200 000

Retailers
500 000

EU research funds are devoted to developing new 
farming systems so that farmers can respond to the 
many challenges that lie ahead — not least those of a 
changing climate and growing pressure on natural 
resources. In the future, our farmers will have to 
produce more with less. This could be achieved through 
the development of instruments, such as innovation 
partnerships, to promote innovation in agriculture by 
bridging the existing gap between research and farming 
practice and facilitating communication and cooperation 
among stakeholders (farmers, advisors, agro-business, 
scientists, administrations and others).

Modernisation is another CAP priority

Farm modernisation has always been, and still is, an 
important CAP objective. Many EU farmers have 
benefited from grants to modernise their farm buildings 
and machinery. Others have made use of grants to 
improve the quality of their livestock and the conditions 
under which they are reared.

The challenge is to ensure that modernisation will assist 
farmers to become economically competitive and to 
apply environmentally sustainable techniques.

The CAP’s rural development programme will remain a 
significant driver of change and progress: it will 
continue to offer opportunities to farmers to improve 
their farms and, more generally, the countryside they 
live in.

In line with Europe’s growth strategy for the coming 
decade — ‘Europe 2020’ — our farmers will become 
more efficient and more competitive.

While grants and loans play a major role, there are other 
means to help farmers. Training programmes and farm 
advisory services are among the less visible ways to 
provide valuable assistance to farmers throughout the EU.

Why farmers don’t always  
get a fair deal

The vast majority of farms are relatively small. The 
average EU farmer has only 12 hectares of land 
(equivalent to about 20 football pitches) and 70 % of 
farms are less than five hectares in size.

The small size of their farms means that farmers can 
find it hard to get the best market price for their 
produce. Their efforts to improve quality and add value 
can go unrewarded by the market price.

The CAP increasingly helps farmers to strengthen their 
bargaining position vis-à-vis other players in the food 
chain.
The EU helps farmers by encouraging:

•  the formation of producer organisations: these allow 
farmers to form groups so that they can sell their 
products collectively, enabling them to exert greater 
market power within the food chain;

•  other forms of cooperation to give farmers more 

leverage in the marketplace and raise profit margins 
and competitiveness;

•  specialised types of production such as organic 

farming;

•  contractual relationships throughout the food chain;

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINEDs
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•  the creation of mutual funds and insurance schemes 

to allow farmers to respond better to market 
instability or fast-falling prices.

Risk management and marketing tools can improve 
farmers’ position in the food chain. The 2013 reform 
provides financial support to farmers who wish to use 
such tools.  

Quality food — a key to success

Europe is renowned for its huge range of fine foods, 
wines and beers, as reflected in its great culinary 
traditions.

In pursuance of safe and high-quality food, over the 
years Europe has developed a range of tools. These 
include marketing standards, quality systems to identify 
products with a specific quality, certification systems 
and hygiene rules.

MARKETING STANDARDS: these standards exist for 
most farm products. They define product categories, 
minimum product standards and some labelling 
requirements. They inform the consumer (on the origin 
or variety of fruits and vegetables for example) and 
allow for price comparison between products of a 
similar quality. These standards make trade in Europe 
easier.

13

Europe’s good reputation for 
quality food is supported by 
a number of EU schemes. 

QUALITY SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY PRODUCTS WITH 
A SPECIFIC QUALITY: specially linked to their 
geographical origin, there are two logos: ‘Protected 
Designation of Origin’ and ‘Protected Geographical 
Indication’. What's the difference? 

•  A Protected Designation of Origin gives status to a 
food product which is produced entirely within a 
defined geographical area using recognised skills and 
ingredients from the region and which is linked to its 
geographical origin. This includes many cheeses (such 
as Queso Manchego or Feta), meat products (such as 
Prosciutto di S. Daniele), olive oil (Umbria, Kalamata, 
Montoro-Adamuz), fruits and vegetables and, of 
course, many wines.

ED DESIGNATION O

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O

 • PR

F
O
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I

GIN •

Protected designation of origin: the label 
for European quality food with a 
guaranteed geographical origin.

Protected geographical indication: the 
label for European quality food closely 
linked to a certain region.

The European logo for organically 
produced products.

AGRICULTURE 
 
14

•  A Protected Geographical Indication denotes a food 
linked by its quality and reputation to a region in 
which at least one stage of production took place. 
This includes beers (Münchener Bier, Ceskobudejovické 
Pivo), meat (Scotch beef, many types of French 
poultry) and also bakery products and fish (notably 
Scottish farmed salmon).

ORGANIC FARMING: there is a special European logo 
for organically produced products which guarantees 
that European organic production standards have been 
complied with. Organic farming respects the natural life 
cycles of plants and animals. It minimises our impact on 
the environment. Production methods comply with 
precise and strict European legislation.

CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS: the voluntary certification 
systems for food quality guarantee compliance with 
specifications which may include requirements on 
environmental protection, animal welfare, the odour 
and taste of a product and fair trade. The European 
Commission has developed guidelines to harmonise 
these systems, to limit the constraints on producers and 
to ensure that consumers are not misled.

HYGIENE RULES: these rules are applied from the 
‘farm to the table’ for foods produced in the EU or 
imported from third countries. The EU’s food security 
strategy is based on: rules related to the security of 
products intended for human and animal consumption; 
independent and publicly available scientific advice; 
safeguards; and the right of the consumer to make a 
fully informed choice.

Finally, the European Commission and the EU Member 
States support farmers who commit to quality through 
rural development measures and promotion aid.

AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

European Union (EU 28)
72 000

Million euro. Average 2011-2013. Source: European Commission.

The EU opens its market  
for developing countries

The European Union is the world’s biggest importer of 
foodstuffs — by a big margin.

Through its overseas development policy, the EU helps 
developing countries to sell their agricultural products in 
the EU. It does this by granting preferential access to its 
market.

Each year, the EU typically imports close to €60 billion 
worth of agricultural products from developing 
countries. This is more than the other five major 
importers combined (the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia 
and New Zealand).

The EU has extensive commercial and cooperation links 
with third countries and regional trading blocs. In 
addition, it has concluded (or is negotiating) bilateral 
trade agreements with its near neighbours and other 
third countries as well as economic partnership 
agreements with developing countries.

New Zealand
1 000
Australia
3 000
Canada
6 000
Japan
19 000
United States
43 000

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED15

Europe is a major exporter  
of quality food

EU EXPORTS BY SECTOR

Machinery and appliances 21 %

Thanks to its favourable climate, its fertile soils and the 
technical skills of its farmers, Europe is one of the 
world’s most important producers of agricultural 
products.
At the global level, food production will have to double 
in order to feed 9 billion people — the estimated world 
population in 2050. The EU, through the CAP, plays a 
significant role in meeting this challenge. This is why it 
needs to continue investing in its farming sector.

Chemicals 11 %

Pharmaceuticals 8 %

Agriculture 7 %

Vehicles and parts 6 %

Textiles 3 %

The volume, diversity and quality of its products make 
the EU a major exporter. In fact, the EU is the leading 
exporter of agricultural products (mostly processed and 
high-value-added products).

Construction equipment 2 %

Source: European Commission.

The EU is one of the most important and active 
members of the World Trade Organisation and plays a 
constructive role in devising innovative and forward-
looking common rules for global trade, including 
agriculture. By supporting the role of the WTO, the EU 
helps to maintain a free, fair and open trading system 
for all countries of the world.

The flow of agricultural imports and exports to and 
from the European Union is shown below.

EU AGRICULTURAL TRADE

North America
EU import 11 000
EU export 17 000

Russia and Ukraine
EU import 4 000
EU export 11 000

Mediterranean 
area
EU import 8 000
EU export 15 000

Japan 
and South Korea
EU import 300
EU export 6 000

Argentina and Brazil
EU import 21 000
EU export 2 000

ACP and South Africa
EU import 14 000
EU export 9 000

ASEAN, China 
and India
EU import 16 000
EU export 10 000

Australia
and New Zealand
EU import 4 300
EU export 2 300

Million euro. Average 2010–12. 
Source: European Commission.

AGRICULTURE16

Europe’s agriculture towards 2020:  
meeting the challenges ahead

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The common agricultural policy delivers food to our 
tables, providing wholesome, high-quality and safe 
products at an affordable and fair price.

The CAP has evolved over the years to meet changing 
economic circumstances and citizens’ requirements. The 
vast majority of citizens support this policy and 
recognise its substantial benefits.

support will become fairer and greener, the position of 
farmers vis-à-vis other players in the food chain will be 
strengthened and the policy as a whole will become 
more efficient and more transparent. The reform 
represents the EU’s strong response to the challenges 
of food security, climate change and growth and jobs in 
rural areas. The CAP will continue to play a key part in 
achieving the overall objective of promoting smart, 
sustainable and inclusive growth. 

In 2013 the policy was reshaped to meet the challenges 
of the future. It takes into account the expectations of 
society and will lead to far-reaching changes: direct 

As it has done over the last 50 years, it will continue to 
bring benefits to all EU citizens.

Find out more

 X The European Commission’s website about agriculture: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/index_en.htm
 X We take care of our roots: presentation of Europe's common agricultural policy:   

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-for-our-roots/index_en.htm

 X Questions about the European Union? Europe Direct can help: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 

http://europedirect.europa.eu

ISBN 978-92-79-37537-8
doi:10.2775/45239

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED