Fertile land areas to produce agricultural and forestry products are only available in a limited amount on our planet. The global distribution of those products, produced on those areas, is an issue with increasing political importance.  This study will investigate the direct and indirect land required to satisfy the final demand of agricultural and forestry products in Europe.

This study will apply a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis which combines economic data in monetary terms and physical data. MRIO analysis allows analysing in a global context, which final demand in which European countries induces the appropriation of land areas outside Europe.

Main questions, which this study aims to address, are

• How big are the land areas (in hectares) embodied in European imports and exports and how do the numbers for embodied land relate to arable land available within Europe?
• In which countries and world regions does Europe appropriate which types of land to satisfy its demand of agricultural and forestry products?
• Which products and product groups make up the largest shares of land embodied in imports?

The model is closed on the global level and distinguishes 113 countries and world regions and 10 different categories of land use.

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