In their new research paper Another look at agricultural trade of the EU: Virtual land trade and self-sufficiency, authors Steffen Noleppa and Matti Cartsburg (both HFFA Research) take a closer look at virtual land trade linked to the agricultural production of the European Union. One of their main findings: although the amount of land virtually imported by the EU has decreased since 2007, the EU is still net importing close to 20 million ha of virtual agricultural land. The authors conclude that, despite all improvements the EU remains a large net importer of virtual land, occupying resources outside its territory to satisfy its own demand. It is well known that some of the world regions net delivering agricultural land to the EU face resource scarcity and/or own problems in satisfying their domestic demand. Therefore, the authors urge for taking determined action, as the EU’s trade balance needs urgently to be improved.

This research paper is the initial outcome of a multi-annual project aiming at continuously measuring the virtual land trade and agricultural self-sufficiency of the EU. By using a revisited methodology, and applying it on the latest available data, the resulting publications will set an improved standard in the calculation of virtual land trade and various self-sufficiency indicators.

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