BUMPER IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF CHRISTMAS GOODS.

Just before Christmas, Eurostat published statistics on the external trade of festive fare revealing that China is still by far the largest supplier of toys to the European Union. The EU is a net importer of toys from the rest of the world. Between 1999 and 2004, EU25 imports of toys rose from euro 4 billion to 4.8 billion, while exports grew from 600 to 700 million. China's share of total EU imports of toys rising from 76% in 1999 to 81% in 2004. Switzerland was second, with a share of only 4%.

With exports of euro 970 million in 2004, the EU is a significant supplier of sparkling wines to the rest of the world. France (740 million) accounted for more than three quarters of this total. Italy (110 million) and Spain (70 million) were the only other significant exporters amongst the member states.

The EU imported the equivalent of euro 600 million of...