EU Details 2017 Counterfeit Seizures

Customs officials in the European Union seized more than 31 million counterfeit products during 2017 with a street value of more than 580 million Euros, the EU said in a Sept. 28 press release. The volume of interdicted goods is down since 2016, but the government noted that "potentially dangerous goods" such as medicines, toys and electrical goods used day-to-day by consumers are now 43 percent of the total, a much higher proportion than in the past.

The top category of fakes was food, at 24 percent, followed by toys, 11 percent, cigarettes, 9 percent, and clothes, 7 percent. Most shipments were in large containers, and the top country where illicit shipments came from was China, the release said. However, Turkey was the top source of counterfeit clothing, the release said.