Value of agricultural exports up by nearly 5 percent in 2024

© CBS
The Netherlands exported agricultural goods with a total value of 128.9 billion euros in 2024. That was an increase of 4.8 percent relative to 2023. This is reported by Wageningen Economic Research (WUR) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS), on the basis of joint research commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

The increase in the value of agricultural exports was mainly due to rising prices in 2024. However, to a lesser extent, the value of agricultural exports also increased due to a rise in the volume of agricultural goods exported.

The Dutch economy is estimated to have earned around 47.4 billion euros in 2024 from the export of agricultural goods (4 percent more than in 2023). Of that total, 42.3 billion euros came from agricultural goods produced in the Netherlands and 5.2 billion euros came from the re-export of agricultural goods produced in other countries.

Value of Dutch agricultural exports
 Exports of goods produced in the Netherlands (bn euro)Re-exports (bn euro)
201660.222.4
201763.624.1
201864.124.1
201966.925.3
202066.526.6
202168.234.9
202279.242.6
202379.643.4
202483.445.5
Source: CBS, figures for November and December 2024 are estimates by CBS and WUR

High cocoa price pushes up export value of cocoa products

The top-three main agricultural exports remained unchanged in 2024: dairy and egg exports were in first place, followed by horticultural exports in second place and meat exports in third place. There was virtually no change in the export value of dairy and eggs (12.3 billion euros), while the value of horticulture exports (11.9 billion euros) rose by 4 percent compared with 2023. The value of meat exports fell by 3 percent from 11.1 billion euros to 10.7 billion euros.

A very sharp increase in the price of cocoa in 2024 led to an increase in the export value of cocoa and cocoa preparations (cocoa butter, cocoa paste, cocoa powder and chocolate) of at least 66 percent. Cocoa is now the fourth-largest Dutch agricultural export product, while in 2023 this product group ranked in eleventh position. The price of cocoa rose particularly sharply due to poor harvests. In Ivory Coast and Ghana, two of the world’s main exporters of cocoa, the harvest was worse than usual due to heavy rains. This led to more diseases in agricultural crops, such as cocoa trees.

Top ten most-exported agricultural products in 2024
Landbouwgoederen2024 (bn euro)2023 (bn euro)
Dairy and eggs12.311.8
Horticulture11.911.4
Meat10.711.1
Cocoa (& cocoa
preparations)
9.96.0
Vegetables8.98.8
Fruit8.67.8
Processed and preseved
fruits and vegetables
7.47.2
Beverages7.37.8
Preparations of
cereals, flour, milk
6.66.5
Natural fats and oils6.26.6
Source: CBS, figures for November and December 2024 are estimates by CBS and WUR

Significant growth in exports to Germany

Germany has traditionally been the main buyer of agricultural goods from the Netherlands. In 2024, 25 percent of agricultural exports went to Germany, which was slightly more than in 2023 (24 percent). The value of Dutch agricultural exports to Germany increased by 8.5 percent in 2024. In percentage terms, that increase was more the increase for other important export destinations: exports to Belgium grew by around 6 percent, exports to France by less than 2 percent, and for the United Kingdom there was minimal growth of 0.3 percent.

Exports to Poland saw the highest growth of all the top-ten export destinations, in percentage terms, with a rise of 13 percent in 2024. Exports to Spain (up by 7 percent) and to the U.S. (up by 9 percent) also saw substantial growth in value. Exports of cocoa preparations to all these countries saw a significant increase in value. Also, more horticultural exports went to Poland, more meat was exported to Spain, and more natural fats/oils and beverages were exported to the United States.

Agricultural exports to China, by contrast, declined by 12 percent in 2024. This was mainly due to reduced demand for baby milk powder and pork from the Netherlands, in part because of increased production in China itself.

Top ten destinations for Dutch agricultural exports
Bestemming2024 (bn euro)2023 (bn euro)
Germany32.029.5
Belgium16.015.0
France10.910.7
UK9.59.4
Italy5.04.9
Spain4.94.6
Poland4.54.0
US3.73.4
China2.83.2
Sweden2.62.6
Source: CBS, figures for November and December 2024 are estimates by CBS and WUR

A more detailed look at the trade in agricultural goods

In addition to providing the latest estimates on export and import figures, the report on which this news release is based (see link below) also focuses on particular themes. The 2024 report covers the impact of Brexit on Dutch agricultural exports, price trends, Dutch import dependencies for agricultural goods and the carbon footprint of Dutch imports. A summary in English can be found on pages 14-19 of the report.