Exports to Russia down by almost 40 percent in 2022

In 2022 the value of Dutch exports to Russia was sharply lower than in previous years as a result of sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine. The total value of these exports last year came out at 3.7 billion euros. That is 38 percent less than in 2021. The export value was still rising in January and February 2022, but declined rapidly in each of the following months relative to 2021. The sharpest drop occurred in March.

The total value of goods imports from Russia stood at almost 21 billion euros in 2022. This is 13 percent higher than in 2021. Russia thus accounts for approximately 3 percent of the Netherlands’ total imports. Soaring fuel prices have driven up the value of these imports over the past two years. For years, mineral fuel imports, including crude oil, petroleum products and gas, have constituted roughly 90 percent of the total import value in trade with Russia.

Transport equipment exports to Russia down in particular

Over half of the Netherlands’ exports to Russia were domestically produced goods last year. These domestic exports declined more sharply than re-exports. Throughout 2022, fewer carrier vehicles, buses, flowers and plants and certain Dutch-made chemical products went to Russia in particular. The decline in re-exports was mainly in exports of goods such as semiconductors and chips, mobile phones, computers, laptops, tablets and office machines.

13 percent higher import value in 2022

Mineral fuel imports from Russia amounted to a total of 18.3 billion euros in 2022, i.e. nearly 12 percent more than in 2021. Furthermore, in 2022 sharp increases were seen in the import value of metals such as nickel (+62 percent), copper (+12 percent) and aluminium (+121 percent) relative to 2021. In terms of value, Russia remained the top supplier of copper (with that share rising from 30 to 34.6 percent). In 2021, Russia was the largest supplier of nickel with over a quarter of the total import value. Although in 2022, nickel was imported from Australia slightly more often than from Russia, the Russian share was still 22 percent.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has imposed new sanctions on companies doing business with Russia. For example, the import of certain goods, such as (products of) iron and steel, coal, wood and cement, is prohibited. In 2022, European imports of mineral fuels from Russia were also increasingly restricted, partly due to a price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products. Dutch mineral fuel imports from Russia fell almost continuously after March 2022, but partly because of the higher prices, the total import value in 2022 was still higher than in 2021.