Growth in exports to the United Kingdom lagging behind

Last year, exports of Dutch-manufactured goods to the UK rose by 0.9 percent year-on-year to a total of 20.5 billion euros. Re-exports stood at approximately 19.4 billion euros, down by 2 percent relative to 2018.

Relative to 2015 - the year prior to the Brexit referendum - the value of Dutch exports to the UK was 9.4 percent higher in 2019. Over the same period, the total value of Dutch goods exports grew by 23 percent. In 2015, exports to the UK still occupied a share of 8.7 percent in total Dutch goods exports. Four years later - on the eve of Brexit - this had declined to 7.7 percent.

Exports of Dutch-manufactured products to the UK have increased by 9 percent over the past four years. In the same period, total domestic exports increased by 18 percent. Re-exports to the UK were up by 10 percent, while total re-exports saw a much more substantial increase at 30 percent.

22 percent are agricultural goods

Last year, the Netherlands exported 8.7 billion euros worth of agricultural products to the UK. With a share of 22 percent, agricultural exports play an important role in total Dutch exports to the UK. After Germany and Belgium, the UK is the third largest export destination for agricultural products. Nearly three-quarters of these exports are manufactured domestically.

Over the previous four years, Dutch domestic car exports rose to 560 million euros. The export value of petroleum and natural gas was considerably higher as well, partly due to sharp price increases.

3 in 10 exporters export to the United Kingdom

Out of a total of over 67 thousand companies with exports exceeding 5 thousand euros, 20 thousand companies exported goods to the UK in 2018. This is over 5 percent up on 2015. The increase is less substantial than the rise in the total number of exporting companies. This number was up by 10 percent relative to three years previously. Of the ten most important export destinations, the number of companies with exports to the UK saw the lowest increase.

The Netherlands ranks 4th

After Germany, the United States and China, the Netherlands is the fourth largest supplier of goods to the UK. During the first eleven months of 2019, UK imports (including transit goods) amounted to 570 billion euros. Just under half (49 percent) came from the EU. The Netherlands’ share in UK imports stood at 7.9 percent in this period, up from 7.5 percent in the same period in 2015.

The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union as of 1 February 2020. In a special dashboard, Statistics Netherlands shows the main indicators for the economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: the Brexit Monitor.