Dutch farming exports cleared the 100 billion mark for the first time, with a total of 104.4 billion euros sold
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported in the Leeuwarder Courant, 104.4 billion euros of Dutch agricultural products were exported in 2019, including meat, dairy, flowers; and machines. This means that the Netherlands is the second largest (gross) agricultural exporter in the world, behind on the United States.
The growth in agriculturally-related goods, such as machines, milking robots, and fertilisers grew by 8 percent to around 10 billion euros. The export of agricultural products themselves grew 4.6 percent to 94.5 billion euros.
The Netherlands benefitted from exports that only passed through the country to the tune of 26 billion euro. This happens when, for example, large quantities of fertiliser, pass through the port of Rotterdam and are then forwarded to another country.
According to Wageningen Economic Research on behalf of the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), the growth is caused by ‘two thirds’ higher pricing and ‘one third’ by a rise in the actual amount of export. The figures became known during the lead up to an enormous agricultural fair held in Berlin, called ‘Grüne Woche’. Germany accounts for 23.6 billion euros of Dutch exports, around a quarter of the total.
