d drink industry employs 4.24 million workers throughout all Member States, mostly in rural areas, 64% of whom are employed by SMEs. As the leading employer in the EU, it also boasts a turnover of over €1 trillion and added value of €206 billion. The industry is a net exporter of food and drink products, with a positive trade balance of €23 billion.These are just some of the highlights of the ‘Data and Trends Report’ just published by FoodDrinkEurope. In this report, the trade body representing Europe’s food and drink industry offers a comprehensive picture of the structure and economics of the sector. This edition, the twelfth so far, shows that the sector remains stable, resilient and robust despite the crisis, and one of the very few to produce above its 2008 output level.
