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Foreign Trade in Figures

Dutch prosperity has always been based on its international trade, and the geographic location of the country makes it a European trade hub, with Rotterdam being the largest European port and the third-largest in the world, handling over 465 million tons of cargo annually. With high-tech industries and services, foreign trade is one of the main pillars of the Dutch economy, representing an impressive 156% of GDP (World Bank – latest data available), one of the most open and outward-oriented economies in the world. According to data by CBS, 24% of exports in 2021 comprised machinery, followed by manufactured goods (21%), chemical products (19%), food and beverages (13%), and mineral fuels (12%). The country is also a major exporter of flowers and plants, with the horticulture sector being a significant contributor to the Dutch economy. Most of the sales are re-exportations as the country plays the role of a European trade hub; therefore, the same product categories led imports (machinery accounting for 25% of the total, against 24% of manufactured goods). In 2021, large enterprises exported over three times as much in terms of value as independent SMEs.

The share of total Dutch goods exports that went to Europe stood at 77% in 2021. As data by CBS show, Germany was the main destination, accounting for 23% of total exports, followed by Belgium (11%) and France (8%). Imports came chiefly from Germany (17%), China (10%) and Belgium (10%).

The country has a structurally positive trade balance for goods and services, which stood at around 10.3% of GDP for 2021 according to the World Bank. The Dutch goods trade achieved unprecedentedly high import and export values in 2021, and by the start of the year the Netherlands’ international trade in goods had already returned to its pre-crisis level. In the same year, the country’s exports of goods were worth USD 836.5 billion (an increase of 23.9% year-on-year), with imports growing at a faster pace (USD 758 billion; +27.1%); whereas for commercial services exports stood at USD 247.5 billion (up by one-third y-o-y), and imports at USD 236.7 billion (+40% - data by WTO). The latest figures from the National Statistical Office show that in the first quarter of 2022 the value of Dutch exports increased to EUR 196 billion (+22%), while the value of imports reached EUR 172 billion (+24%). Trade in services and goods increased by EUR 14.2 billion (+21.4%) and EUR 54.1 billion (+23.2%), respectively. As exports growth outstripped imports in absolute terms, the Dutch export surplus rose to EUR 23.7 billion.