Imports of goods from the Gulf states more than halved in April

© Hollandse Hoogte / Lex van Lieshout
  • Due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the value of imports from the Gulf states has fallen sharply.
  • Imports from Iraq have virtually come to a halt.
  • The Gulf states export large quantities of mineral fuels, such as crude oil and motor fuels, and accounted for 7 percent of the mineral fuels imported by the Netherlands in 2025.

In April 2026, the import value of goods from the Gulf states was 67 percent lower than in March. This is because the Strait of Hormuz is currently closed. Imports from Iraq have come to a complete standstill. Mineral fuels are the main exports from this region. In 2025, however, the Netherlands sourced 93 percent of its mineral fuels from countries outside the Gulf region. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures.

Due to the war between the US and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz was closed in early March 2026. For seven Gulf states (Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), the strait is indispensable for shipping exports out of the region.

Countries affected by the closure of the Strait of HormuzMap of the Persian Gulf and the seven states in the Gulf region: Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Iran Iraq Saudi Arabia Strait of Hormuz Kuwait UAE Bahrain Qatar C o u n tr i e s aff e c t ed b y t h e c l o s u r e o f t h e S t r a i t o f H o r m uz

Import value of goods from the Gulf states down by 55 percent

Meanwhile, goods worth 293 million euros were imported into the Netherlands from these seven countries: 55 percent less than the average in 2025. This is partly because transport by cargo vessel is slow. It can take one to two months to sail from the Gulf region to the Netherlands.

In 2025, the Netherlands imported 7.7 billion euros worth of goods from countries in the Gulf region, averaging of 642 million euros per month. Three-quarters of these goods were mineral fuels, such as crude oil and motor fuels. That is over 7 percent of the mineral fuels imported by the Netherlands, with an import value of 5.9 billion euros. 45 percent of this consists of mineral fuels from Iraq.

Imports from Iraq have come to a halt

Of the seven countries in the Gulf region, Iraq was hit the hardest. Imports of goods from that country virtually stopped. The value of imports from the UAE (-48 percent) and Saudi Arabia (-75 percent) was also much lower in April 2026 than the monthly average in 2025. Trade with Iran was also low in 2025. Nevertheless, the import value of goods from Iran was 76 percent lower than the average import value in 2025. By contrast, the import value of goods from Qatar was higher.

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