E. coli's economic impact on Europe, by the numbers

The European Union is planning to offer €150 million ($220 million) in aid to European farmers who have suffered huge financial losses because of last week’s E. coli outbreak. Is that enough to make up for their losses?

5. Portugal

Portugal, which is on the verge of receiving a bailout, didn’t need any more bad economic news, but its farmers have lost an estimated €3 million since the E. coli outbreak began. Agriculture makes up 2.6 percent of the country’s GDP.

Like Spain, Portuguese authorities also plan to ask for EU compensation for their farmers, the Wall Street Journal reports. This won’t be the first agricultural and economic dispute between Portugal and its northern neighbors. Before Portugal joined the EU, France would often turn away Portuguese produce based on sanitary concerns, sometimes unfounded, the Journal reports.

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