Customs detain €1 billion worth of fake goods at EU borders in 2012

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EU Customs detained almost 40 million products suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR) in 2012, according to the Commission's annual report on customs actions to enforce IPR. Although this is less than the 2011 figure, the value of the intercepted goods is still high, at nearly €1 billion. The report also gives statistics on the type, provenance and transport method of counterfeit products detained at the EU's external borders. Cigarettes accounted for a large number of interceptions (31%), miscellaneous goods (e.g. bottles, lamps, glue, batteries, washing powder) were the next largest category (12%), followed by packaging materials (10%). Postal and courier packages accounted for around 70% of customs interventions in 2012, with 23% of the detentions in postal traffic concerning medicines.
In terms of where the fake goods were coming from, China continued to be the main source. Other countries, however, were the top source for specific product categories, such as Morocco for foodstuffs, Hong Kong for CD/DVDs and other tobacco products (mainly electronic cigarettes and liquid fillings for them), and Bulgaria for packaging materials (Press Release European Commission, 5 August 2013).
Click here for the press release.
Click here for the report (7.95 MB).