The focus of Austrian export activities in the first half of 2024 was clearly on the German market, to which more was exported in terms of value and volume than in the previous year. Germany has become more important than ever as an export market for the domestic agricultural sector. Top export products are cheese, sausage and bacon as well as dairy products.
Agricultural products from Austria, including products from the Austrian food industry, find large international sales. In terms of volume, exports increased again in the first half of 2024, with export volumes increasing by 7.2 percent. However, the exceptional year of 2023 with high inflation and high energy and raw material prices is now also reflected in the total value of agricultural exports in the first half of the year: According to the preliminary results of Statistics Austria, these are 2.3 percent below the previous year’s value at 8.291 billion euros. This results in a negative agricultural foreign trade balance for Austria of minus 907 million euros (Chart 1).
These current challenges are also reflected in the high price sensitivity in the food sector. Agricultural imports rose above average by 6.1 percent in value and 13.2 percent in volume (Chart 1). Cheap products in particular are currently in high demand and purchased, including abroad. “AMA Marketing is consciously countering this trend with the value of food and also bringing this to the fore in its export activities. Because the prices are immediately visible to consumers when shopping, the increased production costs of the companies behind them are not visible to many,” says Christina Mutenthaler-Sipek, Managing Director of AMA Marketing.
More was exported to Germany in terms of value and quantity
Due to their geographical proximity, the EU area and in particular Austria’s neighboring countries are among the most important sales markets, which are becoming increasingly important (Chart 2). By far the most important export market is still Germany, where exports were 1.4 percent more in value and 9.9 percent more in volume in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year. But Italy, Hungary and Switzerland are also important export countries for Austria, although exports to these countries declined (Chart 3).
Cheese remains an export hit to Germany
For Austria, Germany is and remains the most relevant market; almost 40 percent of agricultural exports are delivered there. Agricultural goods worth around 3.18 billion euros were exported to Germany. While exported volumes increased, imports fell by 1.4 percent (Chart 4).
When it comes to the number one export product, cheese, Austria can further demonstrate its competitiveness towards Germany. Despite a slight decline in export value of 2.7 percent due to prices that have now fallen again, cheese is one of the most important export goods. Cheese worth 250 million euros was exported to Germany (Chart 5).
“When it comes to food, milk and milk products, especially cheese, are still THE export hit that we can be very proud of,” says Mutenthaler-Sipek. “German consumers appreciate the high quality, regionality and naturalness of our products, which is also reflected in the export figures.”
Most popular export products to neighboring countries
Other important agricultural product groups exported to Germany include sausage and meat preparations (17.4%), milk and milk products (13.4%) and fruit and vegetables (11.0%) (Chart 6).
Specifically, there was an increase in export value of 16.9 percent for sausages and meat preparations and an increase in export volume of 19.3 percent (Chart 7).
Fresh fruit and vegetables achieved an increase in exports of 9.4 percent in value and 1.1 percent in quantity (Chart 8).
AMA marketing measures: bundled Austrian presence at the SIAL in Paris
AMA Marketing implements comprehensive marketing measures on foreign markets with the umbrella brand “Land der Berge” that aim to increase the image of Austrian agricultural products and promote sales. With a combination of digital and traditional communication activities, the export brand “Land der Berge” focuses on the attributes of quality, tradition and naturalness. The central campaigns include print and online measures as well as trade cooperations and B2B events.
The main focus of AMA Marketing is on international trade fair appearances. AMA Marketing will be represented at SIAL in Paris from October 19th to 23rd, 2024. The trade fair is one of the leading events in the food industry and the most important meeting point for the global food industry. The 285,000 B2B guests from more than 200 countries can expect five days of concentrated expert knowledge and product innovations from 7,000 exhibitors. More than 400,000 different products are presented here. “We are proud to be represented at SIAL again this year with our large joint appearance in the style of an Alpine village. A large number of AMA quality seal companies are taking advantage of this opportunity and presenting their high-quality and diverse range of products to international retail chains, chain caterers and specialist audiences,” says Mutenthaler-Sipek.
International trade fair appearances
This year, AMA Marketing presented Austrian agricultural products at numerous other major events and thus supported manufacturers in their export activities. In addition to the Green Week in Berlin, the program also included participation in the Biofach in Nuremberg, the CIBUS in Parma and the NOFF in Stockholm.
