This section provides an overview of trade in CITES-listed species reported by EU Member States and candidate countries in 2012. The importance of the EU as an exporting market appears to be increasing, with roughly double the number of export transactions compared to import transactions reported by Member States in 2012. Live plants were the most highly traded commodity by the EU, the majority of which were artificially propagated.
The sections below focus initially on numbers of trade transactions recorded within annual reports, so as to provide a broad overview of the character of trade that is uncomplicated by the variety of different commodity types and units of measure reported. However, it is important to note that the number of transactions does not provide any indication of the quantity of items in trade, as a single transaction may vary from one trophy to 500 cubic meters of timber. The analysis of trade in particular commodities therefore focuses on the quantity of items in trade.
This section considers both direct and indirect trade; throughout the section, ‘exports’ refers to both direct exports and re-exports, unless otherwise specified.
Transactions
In 2012, over 100 000 import transactions were reported by Member States in their annual reports to CITES; the majority of transactions in 2012 involved wild-sourced (55%) and captive-bred/artificially propagated (43%) commodities and were for commercial purposes (93%). Over the ten-year period 2003-2012 the number of import transactions reported by the EU increased by 73%, with the proportion of transactions involving wild-sourced specimens increasing from 40% in 2003 to 55% in 2012. A total of 3109 different taxa were imported by Member States in 2012, 73% of which were plants.
Number of import transactions reported by EU Member States by source, 2003 – 2012. ‘Captive -produced’ includes source ‘C’, ‘A’, ‘D’ and ‘F’; ‘Other’ includes source ‘O’, ‘U’ and trade reported without a source.
Proportion of import transactions reported by EU Member States by purpose in 2012. ‘Other’ includes purpose ‘B’, ‘E’, ‘G’, ‘L’, ‘N’, ‘Q’, ‘S’, ‘Z’ and trade reported without a purpose (n=101 894).
Top commodities
When quantities are analysed, plants dominate the trade with live plants, leaves and stems emerging as the top commodities imported by the EU in 2012. Other commodities imported at levels over one million units in 2012 were reptile skins and small leather products. Further details on the five top commodities imported are provided in the sections that follow.
Top 10 commodities by group imported by EU Member States in 2012, ordered by quantity (as reported by importers).
| [l]Group | [l]Commodity | [r]Quantity imported | [l]Main source in trade | [r]Trend 2011-2012* | [r]No. of taxa involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [l]Plants | [l]live | [r]31038277 | [l]W (58%) | [r]↓ 31% | [r]2269 |
| [l]Plants | [l]leaves | [r]3594851 | [l]A (99%) | [r]↓ 16% | [r]62 |
| [l]Plants | [l]stems | [r]2478855 | [l]A (>99%) | [r]↑ 999% | [r]12 |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]skins | [r]1338691 | [l]W (58%) | [r]↑ 4% | [r]29 |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]small leather products | [r]1094431 | [l]W (84%) | [r]↓ 4% | [r]33 |
| [l]Plants | [l]wax (kg) | [r]705694 | [l]W (100%) | [r]↑ 10% | [r]1 |
| [l]Plants | [l]roots | [r]613981 | [l]A (>99%) | [r]↑ 42% | [r]16 |
| [l]Timber | [l]bark (kg) | [r]525521 | [l]W (100%) | [r]↓ 17% | [r]1 |
| [l]Corals | [l]live | [r]524608 | [l]W (69%) | [r]↓ 5% | [r]156 |
| [l]Corals | [l]raw corals (kg) | [r]426400 | [l]W (>99%) | [r]↓ 3% | [r]8 |
*↓ signifies decrease in trade in 2012 compared to 2011; ↑ signifies increase in trade in 2012 compared to 2011.
Live plants
Member States imported a total of 31 038 277 live plants in 2012, the vast majority of which were imported for commercial purposes (98%). Wild-sourced plants accounted for 58% of imports, with artificially propagated plants (sources ‘A’ and ‘D’) comprising the remainder. Of both wild-sourced and artificially propagated plants imported, >99% of the taxa involved were Appendix II-listed. Turkey was the trading partner for just over half of the live plants imported, while the Netherlands was the main EU importer. Sixty one percent of imports comprised Snowdrops Galanthus spp..
Top 10 taxa imported as live plants by EU Member States in 2012, by source. ‘Artificially propagated’ includes source ‘A’ and ‘D’.
Leaves and stems
Cycas revoluta accounted for 99% of the roughly 3.6 million leaves imported by the EU in 2012; the vast majority were artificially propagated and imported by the Netherlands directly from Costa Rica for commercial purposes. In addition, 29 710 kg of leaves were imported by the EU in 2012, of which >99% were artificially propagated Japanese Yew Taxus cuspidata originating in China.
Approximately 2.5 million stems were imported by the EU in 2012, the vast majority from the family Cactaceae. All imports were for commercial purposes, with more than 99% artificially propagated; 64% originated in Tanzania. Over 90% of the trade comprised Rhipsalis spp.. The import of an additional 45 284 kg of stems was also reported.
Imports of stems by EU Member States in 2012, by taxon and source. Excludes trade reported by weight.
Reptile skins
A total of 1 338 691 reptile skins were imported by Member States in 2012, the majority wild-sourced (58%) and for commercial purposes (>99%). Sixty per cent of reptile skins were imported from Asia, with countries in the Americas also being important trading partners, particularly for wild-sourced skins. Singapore acts as an entrepôt state for the reptile skin trade and was the top EU trading partner, accounting for approximately a third of all imports, with the majority originating in other Asian countries (primarily Lao PDR, Indonesia and Viet Nam). Italy was the main EU importer (46%).
Imports of reptile skins by EU Member States in 2012, by CITES region of (re-)export and source. ‘Captive-produced’ includes source ‘C’ and ‘D’. ‘Other’ includes source ‘O’, ‘U’ and trade reported without a source. “Europe” excludes EU Member States.
The top species in trade were American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis (23%) and Reticulated Python Python reticulatus (19%).
Top 10 reptile taxa imported as skins by EU Member States in 2012, by source. ‘Captive-produced’ includes source ‘C’ and ‘D’. ‘Other’ comprises source ‘O’.
Reptile small leather products
Member States reported the import of over a million reptile small leather products in 2012, the majority of which were wild-sourced (84%) and traded for commercial purposes (98%). Around three quarters of imports to the EU comprised American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis originating in the United States. The main trading partners were Switzerland (49%), Tunisia (20%) and China (10%); only 5% of leather products were imported directly. The top EU importers of reptile small leather products were France (63%) and Italy (14%).
Top 10 reptile taxa imported as small leather products by EU Member States in 2012. ‘Captive-produced’ includes source ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F’. ‘Other’ includes source ‘O’, ‘U’ and trade reported without a source specified.
Transactions
While generally perceived as an importing market, the importance of the EU as an exporting market appears to be increasing with over 190 000 export transactions reported by Member States in 2012; roughly double the number of import transactions reported by the EU in the same year. Of the transactions reported in 2012, 49% involved trade in captive-bred and artificially propagated commodities while 47% related to wild-sourced trade; the majority of transactions were for commercial purposes (86%). Exports from the EU in 2012 involved 2614 taxa, of which two-thirds were plants. The vast majority of the transactions reported in 2012 (89%) were re-exports.
Number of EU (re-)export transactions reported by EU Member States by source, 2003-2012. ‘Captive-produced’ includes source ‘A’, ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F’; ‘Other’ includes source ‘O’, ‘U’ and no source reported.
Proportion of EU (re )export transactions reported by EU Member States by purpose, 2012 (n=194 168). ‘Other’ includes purpose ‘B’, ‘E’, ‘G’, ‘H’, ‘N’, ‘Q’, ‘S’ and ‘Z’.
Top commodities
The most highly traded commodities (based on quantities in trade) were live plants, live fish eggs and reptile small leather products. The sections that follow provide further details of trade in the top three commodities presented in the table.
Commodities by group (re-)exported by EU Member States at quantities greater than 100 000 units in 2012, ordered by quantity (as reported by (re-)exporters).
| [l]Group | [l]Commodity | [r]Quantity (re-) exported | [r]Main source | [r]Trend 2011-2012* | [r]No. of taxa involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [l]Plants | [l]live | [r]4 489086 | [r]A (75%) | [r]↑ 3% | [r]1721 |
| [l]Fish | [l]live eggs | [r]4395000 | [r]C (100%) | [r]↓ 10% | [r]3 |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]small leather products | [r]2810830 | [r]W (79%) | [r]↓ 1% | [r]42 |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]skin pieces | [r]820622 | [r]W (95%) | [r]↑11% | [r]18 |
| [l]Fish | [l]meat (kg) | [r]533655 | [r]C (54%); O (46%) | [r]↑ 142% | [r]9 |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]skins | [r]491626 | [r]W (72%) | [r]↑ 115% | [r]30 |
| [l]Invertebrates (non coral) | [l]live | [r]162210 | [r]C (83%) | [r]↓ 22% | [r]10 |
| [l]Mammals | [l]hair | [r]157808 | [r]W (>99%) | [r]↑ 13% | [r]3 |
| [l]Birds | [l]live | [r]133270 | [r]C (98%) | [r]↑ 97% | [r]266 |
| [l]Fish | [l]live (kg) | [r]124253 | [r]C (100%) | [r]↑ 96% | [r]4 |
| [l]Plants | [l]wax (kg) | [r]120648 | [r]W (100%) | [r]↓ 8% | [r]1 |
*↓ signifies decrease in trade in 2012 compared to 2011; ↑ signifies increase in trade in 2012 compared to 2011.
Live plants
Over 4.4 million live plants were exported by the EU in 2012, primarily for commercial purposes (73%); the majority were artificially propagated (75%), with the remainder wild-sourced. Virtually all (>99%) of the taxa involved were Appendix II-listed. Europe (excluding EU Member States) was the main region of destination for exports of live plants from the EU (42%, half of which were exported to Switzerland). The United States was, however, the top individual destination country, accounting for a quarter of live plants exported from the EU.
(Re-)exports of live plants by EU Member States in 2012, by CITES region of destination and source. ‘Artificially propagated’ includes source ‘A’ and ‘D’. “Europe” excludes EU Member States.
The main EU exporter of live plants was the Netherlands (93%). Direct exports from EU Member States comprised 69% of all exports; over 98% of EU re-exports originated in Turkey. Sixty-one per cent of live plants exported comprised Snowdrops Galanthus spp..
Top 10 plant species (re-)exported as live plants from EU Member States in 2012, by source.
Live fish eggs
A total of 4 395 000 live fish eggs were exported by the EU in 2012; all were captive-bred and exported directly from the EU, primarily for commercial purposes (97%). The majority of live fish eggs were exported to Asia; 84% were exported from France to China. Trade in live fish eggs was limited to three sturgeon species: Siberian Sturgeon Acipenser baerii, Russian Sturgeon A. gueldenstaedtii and Sterlet Sturgeon A. ruthenus. Exports of live fish eggs were also reported by weight (150 kg).
Percentage of EU exports of live fish eggs in 2012, by destination country (n= 4 395 000). Excludes trade reported by weight.
Percentage of EU exports of live fish eggs in 2012, by species (n=4 395 000). Excludes trade reported by weight.
Reptile small leather products
Over 2.8 million small leather products were exported by the EU in 2012, of which 79% were wild-sourced and the vast majority traded for commercial purposes. American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis accounted for 58% of exports, of which 99% were wild-sourced and originated in the United States.
Top 10 reptile species (re-)exported as small leather products by the EU in 2012. ‘Captive-produced’ includes source ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F’. Small quantities of trade in source ‘R’, ‘U’, ‘O’ and reported without a source are not shown.
The main destination region was Europe (excluding EU Member States; primarily Switzerland), accounting for 57% of trade. Virtually all of the trade comprised re-exports; the United States, Viet Nam and Indonesia were the main origin countries.
(Re-)exports of reptile small leather products by the EU in 2012, by CITES region of destination and source. ‘Captive-produced’ includes sources ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F’; ‘Other’ includes sources ‘O’, ‘U’ and trade reported without a source. “Europe” excludes EU Member States.
Over 3000 import transactions were reported by candidate countries in 2012, compared to less than 700 export transactions. It is worth noting, however, that export transactions generally involved greater quantities of items than import transactions; quantities in trade are further analysed in the following sections. Numbers of both import and export transactions increased over the period 2003-2012, with import transactions showing a near exponential increase. The trend in import transactions can primarily be attributed to increasing imports of reptile leather products, primarily involving Python bivittatus and P. reticulatus, by Turkey.
Number of import (left) and (re-)export (right) transactions reported by the countries that were EU candidates in 2012, by source, 2003-2012. ‘Captive-produced’ includes sources ‘A’, ‘C’ ‘D’ and ‘F’. ‘Other’ includes sources ‘O’, ‘U’ and trade reported without a source. Annual reports have not been received from Croatia for 2005 or Iceland for 2012.
The majority of import and export transactions in 2012 were for commercial purposes; over half involved wild-sourced commodities (56% of import transactions and 63% of export transactions).
In contrast with EU-reported imports, the majority of candidate country imports in 2012 involved animal rather than plant commodities; the top commodities imported were mammal skins, reptile skins and small leather products.
Commodities imported by candidate countries at quantities greater than 1000 units in 2012, ordered by quantity (as reported by importers). Iceland’s annual report for 2012 has not been received.
| [l]Group | [l]Commodity | [r]Quantity imported | [l]Top taxon (%) | [r]Top importer (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [l]Mammals | [l]skins | [r]126207 | [i][l]Lycalopex griseus[/i] (40%) | [r]Turkey (>99%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]skins | [r]23437 | [i][l]Python reticulatus[/i] (73%) | [r]Turkey (100%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]small leather products | [r]17234 | [i][l]Python reticulatus[/i] (40%) | [r]Turkey (93%) |
| [l]Birds | [l]live | [r]7831 | [i][l]Psittacus erithacus[/i] (46%) | [r]Turkey (>99%) |
| [l]Plants | [l]live | [r]7485 | [i][l]Galanthus nivalis[/i] (96%) | [r]Croatia (100%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]specimens | [r]4973 | [i][l]Alligator mississipiensis[/i] (100%) | [r]Turkey (85%) |
| [l]Corals | [l]live | [r]4486 | [i][l]Goniopora lobata[/i] (10%) | [r]Turkey (98%) |
| [l]Corals | [l]raw corals | [r]2420 | [i][l]Acropora humilis[/i] (26%); [i]Pocillopora verrucosa[/i] (26%) | [r]Croatia (83%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]live | [r]1993 | [i][l]Iguana iguana[/i] (92%) | [r]Turkey (97%) |
| [l]Mammals | [l]specimens | [r]1304 | [i][l]Macaca fascicularis[/i] (100%) | [r]Turkey (96%) |
The most highly exported commodities by candidate countries in 2012 were live plants, with over 22 million plants exported; the majority were wild-sourced (86%). All live plants were exported by Turkey to the Netherlands for commercial purposes; 52% were exported directly and 42% originated in Georgia.
Commodities (re-)exported by candidate countries at quantities greater than 1000 units in 2012, ordered by quantity (as reported by (re-)exporters). Iceland’s annual report for 2012 has not been received.
| [l]Group | [l]Commodity | [r]Quantity (re-)exported | [l]Top taxon (%) | [r]Top (re-)exporter (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [l]Plants | [l]live | [r]22413322 | [i][l]Galanthus woronowii[/i] (61%) | [r]Turkey (100%) |
| [l]Mammals | [l]garments | [r]14377 | [i][l]Lycalopex griseus[/i] (74%) | [r]Turkey (100%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]live | [r]12703 | [i][l]Testudo hermanni[/i] (68%) | [r]FYR Macedonia (63%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]small leather products | [r]6725 | [i][l]Alligator mississipiensis[/i] (40%) | [r]Turkey (98%) |
| [l]Mammals | [l]skins | [r]6125 | [i][l]Arctocephalus pusillus[/i] (67%) | [r]Turkey (>99%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]skins | [r]2685 | [i][l]Python reticulatus[/i] (90%) | [r]Turkey (100%) |
| [l]Reptiles | [l]garments | [r]1576 | [i][l]Python bivittatus[/i] (56%) | [r]Turkey (100%) |
| [l]Invertebrates (non-coral) | [l]live (kg) | [r]1084 | [i][l]Hirudo verbana[/i] (100%) | [r]Turkey (88%) |