Venezuela is the Netherlands’ largest supplier of shrimps and prawns

Goods containers being handled in a port area
© CBS
The Netherlands imported goods and services with a value of 280 million euros from Venezuela in 2024. That was a year-on-year increase of 47 percent. The majority of those imports were goods, particularly frozen shrimps and prawns, and methanol. Within the European Union, the Netherlands is the third largest importer of goods and services from Venezuela. This is according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). In early January, the US military carried out an operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of the country’s then president Nicolás Maduro.

The Netherlands imported goods worth 255 million euros from Venezuela in 2024, as well as services worth 25 million euros. 18 percent of those goods (by value) were sent directly to a third country (transit trade).

Between 2015 and 2024, imports from Venezuela consisted mainly of goods in almost every year. The import value of services was only higher than that of goods in one year - 2017.

Main supplier of frozen shrimps and prawns

Frozen shrimps and prawns accounted for 35 percent (89 million euros) of Dutch goods imports from Venezuela in 2024. This made Venezuela our most important supplier of these products.

A further 35 percent of goods imports consist of methanol and 18 percent of ferrous products (obtained directly from the reduction of iron ore). These include products such as wrought iron, steel, cast iron and iron scrap. Venezuela is also the largest supplier of these ferrous products.

58 percent of services imports from Venezuela (worth 14.5 million euros) were made up of financial services.

Netherlands is third largest importer in the EU

Imports of goods and services from Venezuela made up less than 0.03 percent of total value of imports into the Netherlands in 2024. Within the European Union, the Netherlands receives 11 percent of imports from Venezuela, making it the EU’s third largest importer of goods and services from Venezuela. Only Spain and Italy import more from Venezuela, accounting for 58 percent and 12 percent of total imports into the EU, respectively.

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