Browse Data and Analysis

In March 2024, the Council of the European Union and European Parliament concluded negotiations on the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Regulation. The current text is going through a legal review but is now de-facto final and is expected to be formally adopted in the coming months.

EU27 beet sugar production for MY 2024/25 is projected to remain unchanged at 14.8 million metric tons (MMT), with increased cultivation across member states offsetting a slight decline in France.

In MY 2024/25, EU grain production is anticipated to exceed the previous season’s levels and amount to 274 MMT. Excessive rain currently prevails in the EU’s northwest, hampering winter grains development and impeding spring planting operations.

Colombia is the largest South American market for U.S. agricultural products and the seventh-largest market for U.S. food and beverage exports globally. Since the U.S. – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) was implemented in 2012, U.S. agricultural exports have grown by more than 235 percent to a record $3.7 billion in 2023.

MY 2024/25 European Union oilseed production is forecast to decline by about one percent over the previous year with good yields. This forecast is based on the assumption of average growing conditions, lower, more average yields, but increased area which cannot make up for the lower yields.

The revised EU27 sugar production forecast for market year (MY) 2021/22 is 16.6 million metric tons (MMT) in Raw Sugar Equivalents (RSE) as it suffered less from beet yellows virus (BYV) disease than the MY 2020/21 production.

On October 1, 2021, the European Commission published a roadmap outlining its intention to propose legally binding food waste reduction targets in the European Union, as part of its Farm to Fork Strategy. Stakeholders can comment on the roadmap until October 29, 2021.

On September 29, 2021, the European Commission published a roadmap outlining its intention to publish a Communication on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.

After two decades of growth, EU chicken meat production is expected to decline by almost 1 percent in 2021 due to HPAI outbreaks and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

On September 29, 2021, the European Commission launched five “EU missions” to address climate and sustainability issues through funding of research and development.

On September 28, 2021, the European Commission published a roadmap outlining a new regulation being developed to increase the sustainability of all foods placed on the EU market.

This report provides an overview of EU food and feed legislation currently in force for the EU. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) staff reviewed and updated all sections of this annual report.