Global Agribusiness and the European Union
The world has a total population of almost 8 billion humans and an overall gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$75 trillion. Amongst all of the countries in the world, the aggregate of traded goods during 2015 amounted to some US$16 trillion, with crude petroleum accounting for 4.7% or US$740 billion of overall global trade, and foodstuffs representing 3.3% or US$523 billion. This article explores the status of agriculture and the economy in one of the largest regional markets in the world, the European Union.
Global Agribusiness and the European Union
Currently, the European Union is a supranational jurisdiction and common market, with a vast and diverse landscape of almost 4.5 million square kilometers, which is less than half the size of the United States. In terms of territory, the largest countries in the European Union are France, with more than 640.000 square kilometers, and Spain, with little over 505.00 square kilometers. With a total population of little over 515 million inhabitants, if the European Union were a country it would be the third largest in the world, after China and India. However, the European Union is made up of 28 nations, including the United Kingdom, the most populous of which are Germany, representing some 81 million citizens, and France, accounting for almost 67 million. The aggregate GDP of the European Union is approximately US$18 trillion and, as a whole, it has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 1.5% in recent years. The economy of the European Union is divided into 3% agriculture, 25% manufacturing, and 72% services. Similarly, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 5% of the labor force, while manufacturing employs 22% and services employ another 73%.
In terms of natural resources, the European Union has iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, and timber. Simultaneously, the European Union’s superb agricultural industry has as main products wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, and fish. Likewise, an important sector of the national economy is driven by the tourism industry. In terms of trade, during 2015, the largest exporter within the European Union was Germany with a grand total of almost US$1.3 trillion sold internationally, including to other EU member states. The main trading partners of the European Union are the United States, China, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey, amongst others.
A major sector of both consumption and agricultural production within the European Union is bovine and beef. As with most other agricultural sectors, beef and bovine in the European Union is protected and subsidized under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as well as subject to high organic and non-genetic modification (GM) standards. Furthermore, European farmers have highly mechanized agricultural operations as well as access to the most advanced technology within the industry. Back in 2010, the European Union agricultural industry managed some 30 million head of cattle, including calves, bulls, cows, and heifers. This number subsequently decreased to approximately 27 million head of cattle in 2015.