Between January and August 2020, Brazil emerged as the second largest supplier of food to the European Union (EU), behind the United Kingdom, with a 8.8% share of the EU's agri-food supply. This growth was largely due to a 64% increase in soy shipments, following a 47% drop in American grain sales. Despite concerns about deforestation, Brazil's agricultural exports to the EU continued to rise, reaching 7.9 billion euros, a 8.5% increase from the previous year. The UK saw a 10% decrease in its agri-food sales to the EU during the same period. The European Commission is encouraging the reduction of dependence on Brazilian soy and other Mercosur countries, in favor of supporting domestic protein production. Global agri-food trade in the 27 EU countries reached 200.7 billion euros, a 1% increase from 2019, with the biggest increase in agricultural exports being to China.