Corn imports into the EU for the 2019-20 marketing year, which ended on June 30, fell 19% year on year at 19.52 million mt, data from the EU Crop Observatory showed.
The US Department of Agriculture had estimated corn imports into the EU during 2019-20 at 21.5 million mt, and Platts Analytics estimated them at 20.8 million mt.
Spain was the largest corn buyer in the EU in 2019-20, with imports at 6.87 million mt, followed by Netherlands (4.076 million mt).
Portugal, the UK, Italy, Ireland and Denmark were also major importers of corn in 2019-20.
The UK, which is no longer a member state of the trading bloc, has been included in the data, as it will remain part of the EU Customs Union until the end of the transition period.
Ukraine, Brazil, Serbia, Moldova and Argentina were the top five import origins in 2019-20, the data showed.
The EU imported 12.13 million mt of corn from Ukraine, and 4.76 million mt from Brazil in 2019-20, the data showed.
During 2019-20, EU corn imports from Brazil rose 19.8% year on year, and from Ukraine declined 22.3%.
The EU recently removed its import duty on corn, which was in place for over three months. The duty was aimed at protecting European farmers against collapsing corn prices globally, according to the EU commission.
The import duty has been removed now as global corn prices recover, the commission said.
Exports of corn from the EU in 2019-20 stood at 4.94 million mt, up 63% year on year, with Romania, Bulgaria and France the main exporters.
