Browse Data and Analysis

The European Commission will allocate €132 million (approximately $138 million) towards promotion activities for EU agri-food products in 2025.

Maintaining Hungary’s GE-free status remains a government priority. Although the country’s scientific and breeding institutions were supportive of genome editing, the EC’s legislative proposal on NGTs was caught in a political crossfire in October 2023.

The Government of Bulgaria (GOB) continues to oppose agricultural biotechnology. Non-governmental anti-biotech organizations, local activists, and Bulgaria’s organics industry actively spread nonscientific disinformation about biotechnology. Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s poultry, dairy, and livestock stakeholders continue to import biotech-derived feed ingredients.

After two consecutive years of short olive oil production, MY 2024/25 olive oil output in the EU is expected to revert to average levels on good flowering conditions and a mild summer. Fall precipitation will be critical to final production volumes.

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.

On October 8, 2024, the European Commission approved four genetically engineered crops (corn and cotton) for food and animal feed. The four authorizations were published in the European Union’s Official Journal on October 10, 2024, and they remain valid for 10 years.

This guide provides an overview of health certificates needed for exporting plants, animals, foods, and other animal origin products to the European Union.

FAS/Sofia has revised further downward its estimate for Bulgaria’s MY 2024/25 corn crop to 1.7 million metric tons (MMT) based on the latest harvest data and which, if confirmed, will be the smallest crop since 2012. This is due to the severe summer heat and drought.

EU milk production in 2025 is forecast to decline marginally to 149.4 million metric tons (MMT), from an estimated 149.6 MMT in 2024, as a result of declining cow numbers, tight dairy farmer margins, environmental regulations, and disease outbreaks.

Although Hungary regained its avian influenza-free status on July 3, 2024, the disease has returned.

EU27 beet sugar production for marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is projected to increase slightly by 4 percent to approximately 15.4 million metric tons (MMT), driven by favorable market conditions and expanded planting areas.

The European Union (EU) follows a complex, rolling system of review for active ingredients and Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) in food. For agricultural inputs, U.S. farmers must know early in the process of review to prevent or mitigate the loss of, and/or access to, chemical inputs.