Value of Dutch trade in goods in 2021 15% above pre-pandemic level

In 2021, the value of Dutch goods exports stood at approximately €587 billion—nearly 22 per cent higher than in the previous year and almost 14 per cent more than in 2019.

The strongest export growth was recorded to neighbouring Germany and Belgium. Exports to China grew mainly in 2020 before declining slightly in 2021. Exports in 2021 still exceeded the pre-pandemic level.

In 2021, the value of exports to the top ten partner countries was higher than in 2019, with the exception of the United Kingdom. The total value of exports to the United Kingdom fell by €1.9 billion between 2019 and 2021 due to a decline in re-exports to the United Kingdom by 6 billion euros.

The Netherlands is no longer a logical stopover for non-EU goods (e.g. Asian goods) since the United Kingdom left the European Union.

The value of goods imports stood at €527 billion in 2021—24 per cent more than in the previous year and 15 per cent more than in 2019.

A significant part of the import growth can be explained by increased import prices; they were up by 12 per cent on 2020 and by 6.6 per cent on 2019.

For each of the ten largest origin countries, the import value in 2021 exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Especially, imports from Germany, China and Belgium grew substantially in 2021: by 13 per cent, 11 per cent and 7 per cent respectively relative to 2019.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)