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This study investigates the Water Footprint (WF) resulting from the agricultural imports of the European Union (EU-28). Import trade statistics were compiled and linked with crop- and country-specific water consumption data and water scarcity factors. Within the study, the virtual water imports of 104 agricultural commodities for the baseline year 2015 were assessed and product and country hotspots were evaluated. It was shown that (a) Europe imported 100 million tons of agricultural goods and 11 km3 of associated virtual irrigation water; (b) the highest impacts of water consumption do not necessarily result from high import amounts, but from water-intensive goods produced in water scarce countries; (c) the largest external EU-28 water footprint occurred due to the product categories cotton, nuts and rice; and (d) the highest share of the EU external water footprint took place in the United States (US), Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study investigates the water scarcity footprint (WSF) trend of German agricultural imports over recent years, following the principles of the ISO 14046 standard on water footprinting. For this purpose, the import statistics of agricultural goods for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 was compiled and linked with the irrigation water consumption during their production as well as with the AWARE water scarcity factors of the country of production. Agricultural imports increased by 62% from 22 to 35 million tons during the analysed period. At the same time, the blue water consumption for agricultural production (i.e., irrigation water) decreased by 13% and the WSF declined by 20%, from 119 to 91 km3 world-equivalents (world-eq.). The decrease in WSF is caused by drop in the cotton imports, while the WSF associated with the imports of other crops increased by 45%. Product-wise, cotton, nuts, and rice contribute to more than half of the total WSF in all analysed years. Despite their high WSF, these products account for only 3% of the imports by mass confirming the relevance of impact based water footprint assessments. Country-wise, main contributors change along the analysed years. In the year 2000, one-quarter of the WSF occurs in Uzbekistan due to cotton imports. Afterwards, the highest WSF arises in Iran and Spain, while the imports from the US dominate the WSF in 2015. The changing trend follows the pattern of production of the hotspots identified on the product level, e.g. nuts, soybeans, and cotton. This study provides information on the water scarcity impacts that the German consumption creates in other countries and may be useful for decision-making processes aiming at optimising water scarcity footprints. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Water Scarcity Footprint (WSF) of German agricultural imports was calculated. • WSF decreased from 119 to 91 km3 world-eq. between 2000 and 2015. • The imports increased from 22 to 35 million tons between 2000 and 2015. • Imports of cotton , nuts , and rice contribute to almost half of the total WSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]