Italy and France are main EU trade partners of Africa
Among the EU27 Member States, France (21 bn euro, or 23% of the total) was the largest exporter to Africa in 2006, followed by Germany (16 bn or 18%) and Italy (13 bn or 14%). Italy (31 bn or 25%) was the largest importer, followed by Spain (21 bn or 17%) and France (20 bn or 16%).
The largest surpluses in trade with Africa were recorded by Sweden (+2 bn euro), France and Finland (+1 bn each), while the highest deficits were registered by Italy (-19 bn), Spain (-14 bn) and the United Kingdom (-5 bn).
South Africa, Algeria and Libya are main African trade partners of the EU
Among the African countries, South Africa (20 bn euro, or 22% of the total) was the leading destination for EU27 exports in 2006, followed by Morocco and Algeria (both 10 bn or 11%). The leading source of EU27 imports from Africa was Libya (26 bn or 21%), followed by Algeria (24 bn or 19%) and South Africa (19 bn or 15%).
The largest EU27 surpluses in trade with Africa were recorded with Morocco (+3 bn), South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Senegal and Tunisia (all between +1 bn and +1.5 bn) and the highest deficits with Libya (-22 bn), Algeria (-14 bn) and Nigeria (-4 bn).
Machinery and vehicles account for nearly half of EU27 exports to Africa, energy for half of imports
Nearly half of EU27 exports to Africa in 2006 were machinery and vehicles2, and a further quarter were other manufactured articles2. Energy accounted for just over half of imports. At the detailed level, the main EU27 exports to Africa were mobile phones, medicine and motor cars, while the main imports were oil and gas, diamonds and cocoa beans.
