ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 03:21
The Dutch agricultural sector exported a record amount of agricultural goods last year. More than 122 billion euros was exported, more than 17 percent more than in 2021. Statistics Netherlands and Wageningen University report this.
It is the seventh year in a row that an agricultural export record has been recorded. The record is mainly due to the sharply increased prices of agricultural goods. Due to factors such as high energy prices and higher costs of animal feed and fertilizer, farmers, market gardeners and manufacturers are faced with much higher costs. In many cases, these costs are passed on in the prices.
According to the survey, the product group ‘dairy and eggs’ is now the most exported group. Dairy and eggs worth 11.9 billion euros were shipped abroad, an increase of 35 percent compared to the previous year. This is partly due to the historically high milk prices.
The price of eggs is also high. This is mainly due to the high feed costs and the avian flu, which means that there is less supply of eggs.
Germany main destination
The value of meat exports also increased, from 9.4 billion euros in 2021 to 11 billion euros last year. The price of meat has increased worldwide. Flower exports fell slightly, from 11.9 billion euros in 2021 to 11.5 billion euros. And that also applies to fruit: the export value of this fell from 7.2 billion to 7 billion euros.
Germany is the most important destination for Dutch agricultural goods, with a share of 24 percent. Belgium, France and the United Kingdom follow at a considerable distance. Exports to Spain and the United States increased strongly in value last year.
Mainly imported fats and oils
According to Statistics Netherlands, the Dutch economy earned an estimated 49.6 billion euros from the export of agricultural goods. Of this, 44.9 billion euros was earned from Dutch-manufactured exports.
The Netherlands also imported a lot of agricultural goods. This involves a total amount of 88 billion euros. Natural fats and oils are by far the most important group, with a value of 10.3 billion euros. This is followed by fruit, with 7.6 billion euros.
LTO: farmers’ incomes not necessarily higher
The agricultural organization LTO says in a response that the higher export prices do not mean that the incomes of farmers and market gardeners have improved significantly.
“Our farmers and market gardeners make a significant contribution to the Dutch economy with their high-quality products: a good result. Unfortunately, despite the higher export prices of agricultural products, earning capacity is still under heavy pressure,” says LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak.
According to him, the cost increases cannot always be passed on. “Towards the future, we will continue to work to ensure that higher prices, for example for taking sustainability measures, actually land on the farm.”
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