(Brussels, 27 October 2016) Europe’s food and drink industry welcomes the breakthrough in Belgium on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), assuming that the compromise reached will be accepted by the other Member States. It is a crucial step forward for the EU, and for Canada, its trading partner.

FoodDrinkEurope is now looking forward to the setting of a date for the actual signature of CETA, in order to keep the momentum.

Note to the editors:
EU-Canada trade in food and drink products
Canada ranks seventh among the EU food and drink export destinations. In 2015, EU food and drink exports to Canada amounted to €2.8 billion. EU food and drink exports to Canada consist mainly of wine, spirits, chocolate and confectionery, processed fruits and vegetables, bakery and farinaceous products, dairy products etc. The value of Canadian imports is about €900 million and dominated by fish products, processed fruits and vegetables, prepared animal feeds etc.

FoodDrinkEurope is the organisation of Europe’s food and drink industry, the largest manufacturing sector and leading employer in the EU and a key contributor to its economy (286 000 companies, 99% SMEs, 4.2 million employees).