Dutch participation in global value chains
The Netherlands has strong ties with other countries as a result of operating in global value chains. It generally plays an important role as a link in global trade, especially in intraregional trade within the internal market. This chapter examines the origin and composition of imports to the Netherlands in 2020. It also examines precisely what happens to these imports of goods and services. Dutch enterprises generally import many goods and services that are produced more efficiently in other countries or that they cannot produce themselves. A substantial proportion of these goods and services are essential to enable enterprises to export competitively.
7.1Key findings
Disruptions to supply chains for various products and shortages of essential goods further emphasised the interconnectedness of countries in global value chains in 2020, particularly given that the bulk of international trade and investment takes place within global value chains. At present, 70% of international trade is intended for production in global value chains. Raw materials, semi-finished products and services are exchanged between various countries before being incorporated in end-products that are shipped to consumers all over the world (OECD, 2020). Participation in global value chains gives enterprises many advantages because it enables them to purchase their inputs more efficiently, to gain access to knowledge and capital outside the domestic economy and to expand their activities to new markets (OECD, 2013). Disruptions to global supply chains in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, however, reopened the debate on the vulnerabilities associated with production in complex international production networks. In order to increase the resilience of supply chains, some studies, for example, even propose making the chains shorter, less complex and less international.
Imports that undergo no processing
In this chapter we examine how various goods and services from the rest of the world work their way through the Netherlands. The infographic at the beginning of this chapter shows what happens to imports entering the Netherlands. In 2020, the Netherlands imported around €539.6 billion worth of goods and services, comprising goods worth €398.9 billion and services worth €140.8 billion.noot1 Goods imports contracted by €31.3 billion, around 7.3%, in 2020 compared to the previous year. Imports of services fell by €20.4 billion, which means that the relative decrease of 12.7% was significantly greater than in the case of goods imports. A substantial proportion of total goods and service imports (37%) immediately went back abroad in the form of re-exports in 2020. The vast majority of this comprised goods, which were nevertheless 3.7% – around €7.6 billion – lower than in 2019. Only a very small part of the imports for re-exports were imports of services, such as fees for the use of intellectual property paid through the Netherlands. The smallest import flow in the infographic consists of imported goods and services intended for direct domestic expenditures. The direct goods imports intended for domestic expenditures were 6.6% lower than in 2019. Imports of services intended for direct domestic expenditures amounted to €16.4 billion in 2020. Expenditures by Dutch tourists abroad makes up the majority of imports in this category. In 2019 these imports amounted to €26.8 billion. As a result of travel restrictions, this import flow decreased by more than 38.8% (€10.4 billion) in the COVID year 2020.
Imports that do undergo processing
Almost half of imported goods and services were intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises. These ‘intermediate imports’ had a value of €251.3 billion and thus represented 47% of total Dutch imports. Intermediate imports comprise raw materials, semi-finished products, intermediates or support services that are incorporated in other products or used to provide services in the Netherlands. The goods or services that the Netherlands produces are destined either for the domestic market or for export. As the infographic shows, the Dutch business economy processes two-thirds of intermediate imports to serve customers outside the Netherlands. In 2020, €85.4 billion of goods and €74.8 billion of services were incorporated in exports. Petroleum products and chemicals are the main type of intermediate imports. The vast majority of imports of crude oil and petroleum products were incorporated in exported goods and services, such as refined petroleum products manufactured from crude oil, or petroleum-based plastics and fuels used in exports of services by the transport sector. Chemical products are used mainly in export-driven production processes. The services imported by enterprises were mainly business services. Dutch enterprises also imported a great deal of intellectual property, which was mainly utilised in export production. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany were the main origin countries of services incorporated in Dutch exports.
Origin of intermediate imports incorporated in exports
The Netherlands plays an important role as a link in global trade, especially in intraregional trade within the internal market. A large share of the imports that are incorporated in exports came from the EU-28 and went to another (or the same) EU-28 country. Of the four EU countries discussed individually in this chapter, the Netherlands needed the most imports from Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Belgium and France. Countries that are geographically close to the Netherlands – particularly the neighbouring countries – are thus the largest suppliers of intermediate inputs required for Dutch exports, but imports from the EU became relatively less important for Dutch exporters in 2020. The high relative dependence on imports from the EU applies particularly to imports of industrial and chemical products. Crude oil and petroleum products were by far the main imported products incorporated in Dutch exports, but most of these imports came from countries outside Europe (e.g. Russia, Norway and Nigeria). The United States and China are also important players with regard to imports to the Netherlands processed by Dutch enterprises. The market shares of China and the United States actually increased in the COVID year 2020. Whereas total goods imports fell by 8.8% in 2020, goods imports from China, for example, increased further. China was particularly important for imports of machinery and transport equipment and industrial products. The United States was important for imports of machinery and transport equipment, and raw materials and mineral fuels, but its importance for Dutch imports was evident particularly with regard to imports of services, especially American intellectual property.
Due to the war in Ukraine, this chapter devotes particular attention to imports from Ukraine and Russia. Imports from Ukraine and Russia incorporated in Dutch exports were relatively limited in 2020, and mainly related to goods. The dependence on Ukraine and Russia for goods imports incorporated in exports was lower in 2020 than in 2019, however, particularly due to a somewhat lower import dependence on Russia. This import dependence applied mainly to a number of specific goods imported from those two countries, such as cereals and petroleum.
7.2Dutch imports in times of coronavirus
This section gives a detailed description of the destinations of goods and services imported into the Netherlands in 2020. It also examines precisely what happens to the goods and services that are imported. Are they intended for Dutch consumers, are they processed by a Dutch enterprise as part of its production for the domestic or foreign market, or do they leave the Netherlands in a more or less unprocessed state in the form of re-exports? What goods and services do these import flows comprise? The year 2020 was marked by disruptions to international trade and global production chains. In the Netherlands too the pandemic had a negative impact on economic activity and hence also on demand for imported goods and services. The figures for 2020 are therefore compared to the 2019 figures to give an indication of which import flows were hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Half of goods imports leave the country again without further processing
In 2020, goods imports amounted to €398.9 billion and service imports amounted to €140.8 billion, making a combined total of €539.6 billion (Table 7.2.1).noot2 Total imports of goods and services decreased by €51.8 billion in 2020, or 8.8%. Goods imports contracted by €31.3 billion, a decrease of around 7.3% on the previous year. Imports of services fell by €20.4 billion, which means that the relative decrease of 12.7% was significantly greater than in the case of goods imports.
Table 7.2.2 and the infographic at the beginning of this chapter show that a considerable proportion of goods imports are exported directly abroad. Half of the €398.9 billion worth of goods imports were destined for re-export. These imports for re-exports amounted to €199.5 billion in 2020. That was 3.7% – around €7.6 billion – less than in 2019. The share of imports for re-exports in total goods imports increased by 1.9 percentage points compared to 2019 (Table 7.2.1). Re-exports of goods include, for example, a shipping container full of consumer electronics from South Korea that is cleared through customs in the Port of Rotterdam and sold on to a wholesaler in France by an enterprise in the Netherlands). The bulk of Dutch goods imports from Asia are destined for re-export to the European hinterland (Franssen et al., 2020). At €9 billion, imports for re-exports of services are equivalent to just a fraction of imports for re-exports of goods. Re-exports of services consist mainly of royalty and licence payments to special purpose entities (SPEs) registered in the Netherlands that manage intellectual property rights and transfer the payments they collect directly to foreign parent enterprises (Mellens, 2011; CBS, 2016).
| Imports for domestic expenditures | Imports destined directly for foreign market (re-exports) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports intended for direct domestic expenditures | ||||
| domestic consumption | exports | ||||
| x bn euros | |||||
| Goods imports | 54.1 | 101.0 | 68.0 | 207.1 | 430.2 |
| Service imports | 41.9 | 81.4 | 26.8 | 11.1 | 161.2 |
| Total | 95.9 | 182.3 | 94.8 | 218.2 | 591.4 |
| Imports for domestic consumption | Imports destined directly for foreign market (re-exports) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports intended for direct domestic expenditures | ||||
| domestic expenditures | exports | ||||
| x bn euros | |||||
| Goods imports | 50.5 | 85.4 | 63.5 | 199.5 | 398.9 |
| Service imports | 40.6 | 74.8 | 16.4 | 9.0 | 140.8 |
| Total | 91.1 | 160.2 | 79.9 | 208.5 | 539.6 |
Sharp fall in expenditures by Dutch tourists due to travel restrictions
The smallest import flow comprises imported goods and services intended for direct domestic expenditures. In 2020, €79.9 billion worth of imported goods and services were consumed by Dutch households, government organisations and enterprises in the form of investments in fixed assets without further processing. Direct imports of goods intended for domestic expenditures amounted to €63.5 billion in 2020. That was €4.5 billion, or 6.6%, less than in 2019. A bottle of beer produced and bottled in Belgium is an example of an import intended directly for Dutch households. A lathe imported from Germany by a Dutch metalworking firm, however, also falls into the category of imports intended for direct domestic expenditures (investments in fixed assets). Imports of services intended for direct domestic expenditures amounted to €16.4 billion in 2020. Expenditure by Dutch tourists abroad makes up the majority of imports in this category. In 2019 these imports amounted to €26.8 billion. As a result of travel restrictions, this import flow decreased by more than 38.8% (€10.4 billion) in the COVID year 2020.
Most intermediate imports intended for incorporation in exports
The majority of imported goods and services were intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises. These intermediate imports amounted to €251.3 billion, representing 47% of total Dutch imports. Intermediate imports can be further subdivided into goods and services. These amounted to €135.9 billion and €115.4 billion respectively in 2020. Intermediate imports are incorporated in products or used in services for the domestic market or for the export market. The Dutch business economy processed almost two-thirds of these intermediate imports to serve foreign customers. Goods worth €85.4 billion and services worth €74.8 billion were incorporated in exports in 2020, making a combined total of €160.2 billion. Imports intended for processing in exports decreased by €22.1 billion, or 12.1%, in 2020. In relative terms, imports of services for exports decreased less than imports of goods, with decreases of 8.1% and 15.4% respectively. Examples of goods imports incorporated in Dutch exports are computers, computer parts and telecommunications equipment imported from China. Many financial services, intellectual property rights and licences from the United States are also used in Dutch exports (Aerts et al., 2020). Section 7.5 looks in more detail at these import flows that are incorporated in exports.
Intermediate imports of goods and services incorporated in products or services for the domestic market by Dutch enterprises amounted to €91.1 billion, including €50.5 billion worth of goods and €40.6 billion of services. Natural gas from Norway is an example of an intermediate import destined partly for the domestic market. This natural gas can be used by Dutch chemical enterprises to produce mineral fertilisers for Dutch agriculture, whose crops are then processed into food products for Dutch households. LED lamps from China used by Dutch construction companies building commercial premises are another example. Fees paid by Dutch media enterprises to American enterprises for broadcasting rights to movies, series or television shows are an example of imported services incorporated in services for the domestic market (Aerts et al., 2020).
7.3Composition and origin of goods imports
Increase in imports of electrical appliances, computers and office machines
Figure 7.3.1 shows that crude oil and petroleum products were the main import goods in 2020, with an import value of €33.8 billion.noot3 In 2019 the figure was €50.3 billion. This 32.8% decrease was caused by lower demand and sharp falls in prices of raw materials, including crude oil, in 2020. Imported crude oil and petroleum products are intended principally for re-export or further processing in Dutch exports. Crude oil and petroleum products also have the largest import value in the flow of goods imports for further processing for domestic consumption. The second largest category is electrical appliances, with an import value of €26.6 billion, 71% (€18.8 billion) of which comprised imports for re-export. Compared to 2019, imports of electrical appliances even showed a slight rise of €0.7 billion. A possible explanation for this rise may be the increased demand for consumer electronics due to lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic (Van der Duin, 2021). Computers and office machines are third in the ranking of goods imports. These also showed slight growth. Imports of these goods increased by €0.3 billion compared to 2019. This may have to do with the increased demand for computers and office machines due to the various coronavirus lockdowns and the requirement to work from home (Van der Duin, 2021). It is also notable that imports of pharmaceutical products increased by €1.9 billion to €15.3 billion, while imports of road vehicles fell sharply by €3.3 billion to €20.1 billion. Imports of natural and manufactured gas also fell sharply by €2.7 billion to €6.4 billion.
| Imports for intermediate consumption incorporated in domestic expenditure | Imports for intermediate consumption incorporated in exports | Imports intended for direct domestic expenditure | Imports destined directly for foreign markets (re-exports) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude oil and petroleum products | 3.7 | 14.2 | 1.4 | 14.5 |
| Electrical appliances, n.e.s. | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2 | 18.8 |
| Computers and office machines | 1.2 | 1.2 | 4.4 | 16.6 |
| Road vehicles | 1.3 | 2.7 | 11.5 | 4.6 |
| Telecommunications equipment | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 13.1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s. | 2.5 | 1.8 | 3 | 11.3 |
| Medicinal and pharmaceutical products | 2.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 9 |
| Miscellaneous machinery, n.e.s. | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Professional and scientific instruments | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 10.7 |
| Fruit and vegetables | 1 | 1 | 2.8 | 8.2 |
Strong growth of imports for re-exports of microchips and semiconductors
Imports for re-exports, amounting to €199.5 billion, were the main imports into the Netherlands in 2020 (Figure 7.3.1). The largest product group in this category consisted of electrical appliances. Imports for re-exports in this category amounted to €18.8 billion, an increase of €1.3 billion compared to 2019. Most of this increase was attributable to strong growth in re-exports of microchips and semiconductors. The second largest category in imports for re-exports comprised computers and office machines, with an import value of €16.6 billion, €0.2 billion less than in 2019. In 2019, crude oil and petroleum products were still the largest category. In 2020, imports for re-exports in this category amounted to €14.5 billion, a decrease of €5.9 billion, or 28.9%, compared to 2019. Imports for re-exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products rose by €0.8 billion in 2020, while imports for re-exports of telecommunications equipment increased by €0.6 billion. Categories seeing significant falls were generators and motors, down €1.2 billion, and natural gas, down €0.9 billion.
Petroleum products and chemicals remained important intermediate imports
Goods imports for intermediate consumption amounted to over €135.9 billion in 2020. In 2019, the figure was still €155.1 billion. These imports are incorporated in goods and services sold both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Imports of crude oil and petroleum products for intermediate consumption remained the largest category, with an import value of €17.9 billion. Of these, imports worth €14.2 billion were incorporated in exported goods and services, such as refined petroleum products manufactured from crude oil, or petroleum-based plastics and fuels used in exports of services by the transport sector. Imports of chemical products for intermediate consumption amounted to €15.9 billion. Chemical products are used mainly in export-driven production processes.noot4 €5.7 billion worth of electrical appliances were imported for intermediate consumption. Intermediate consumption concerns electronic components and parts that are used across the broad category of electrical appliances. Other product categories for intermediate consumption with a significant import value are metal goods (€5.3 billion), specialised machinery (€4.6 billion) and iron and steel (€4.3 billion).
Road vehicles remained the largest category for direct domestic expenditures
Imports intended for direct domestic expenditures in 2020, amounting to €63.5 billion, were significantly smaller than the two import flows mentioned above. Among these imports, the largest product category comprised road vehicles (including spare parts and accessories), with an import value of €11.5 billion. These imports accounted for 57.2% of total imports of road vehicles, which means over half of the road vehicles (such as passenger cars and motorcycles) were intended directly for Dutch consumers or business operators. In addition to road vehicles, more than half of the imports of other transport equipment (including aircraft, ships and boats) and furniture and accessories are intended for direct domestic expenditures. Compared to 2019, the import value of road vehicles decreased by €2.3 billion, or 16.7%, driven by the fall in demand for vehicles, production chain disruptions and the worldwide chip shortage (Jaarsma & Rooyakkers, 2021). New sales of passenger cars were around 20% lower in 2020 than in a normal year (RVO & Revnext, 2021). Imports of computers and office machines for direct domestic use amounted to €4.4 billion, whereas in 2019 the figure was €3.8 billion. This growth of around 15.8% can be linked to homeworking during the coronavirus pandemic (Van der Duin, 2021). A notable rise in 2020 concerned imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products, which rose by €0.8 billion to €3.4 billion. A decrease was also recorded in imports of clothing for direct domestic use, which fell by €0.3 billion to €3 billion. The lack of demand for clothing during the coronavirus crisis played an important role (Jaarsma & Rooyakkers, 2021).
Table 7.3.2 shows what ultimately happens to imports from particular countries. Germany is the main import partner for goods, accounting for €69 billion, followed by China (€39.6 billion) and Belgium (€37.4 billion). Looking at the European Union (EU) as a whole, we find that it accounts for €204.6 billion of imports. The EU internal market thus accounted for 51.3% of total goods imports into the Netherlands. Excluding the United Kingdom, goods imports from the EU amounted to €186.2 billion, or 46.7% of total goods imports. Imports from EU countries (including the United Kingdom) intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises amounted to €68.8 billion and represented 50.6% of total intermediate goods imports.
| Imports for domestic consumption | Imports destined directly for foreign market (re-exports) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports intended for direct domestic expenditures | ||||
| domestic expenditures | exports | ||||
| x bn euros | |||||
| Germany | 11.2 | 13.8 | 13.9 | 30.1 | 69.0 |
| Belgium | 6.1 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 15.1 | 37.4 |
| United Kingdom | 2.2 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 9.5 | 18.4 |
| Other EU | 10.4 | 12.4 | 14.1 | 43.0 | 79.8 |
| Ukraine | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Russia | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 7.6 |
| Other Europe | 2.4 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 7.0 | 15.1 |
| United States | 2.6 | 5.6 | 2.6 | 17.6 | 28.5 |
| Other America | 1.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 8.2 | 13.5 |
| China | 3.8 | 3.7 | 6.9 | 25.1 | 39.6 |
| Other Asia | 3.3 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 32.0 | 46.7 |
| Elsewhere | 5.7 | 21.1 | 6.6 | 8.7 | 41.7 |
The United Kingdom ranks fifth among the Netherlands’ main import partners, with an import value of €18.4 billion. Of that €18.4 billion, €6.4 billion was destined for re-exports. According to Franssen et al. (2020), these re-exports were intended mainly for the European hinterland. They show that – at any rate before Brexit took effect – the Netherlands is an important pivot point between the United Kingdom and the European hinterland.
Decrease in share of supplies from the United Kingdom
Figure 7.3.3 shows that the United Kingdom’s share of total imports for intermediate consumption decreased from 5.7% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2020. This decrease is mainly due to a lower import value of crude oil and petroleum products. The decrease in the import value was caused both by price falls and by lower import volumes due to a lack of demand and lockdown measures. The EU countries’ share of goods imports for intermediate consumption did increase, however, from 48.1% in 2019 to 50.6% in 2020 (the EU-28 is shown from the left vertical axis to the first dark green bar). Even excluding the United Kingdom, the EU countries’ share of goods imports for further processing increased from 42.4% to 45.9%. Of the EU countries, Germany and Belgium remain the most important suppliers to Dutch enterprises.noot5
Russia and Ukraine are important suppliers of raw materials
In 2020, the Netherlands imported €7.6 billion worth of goods from Russia. Over 60% of these imports were destined for further processing by Dutch industries and 35% were destined for re-export. The bulk of the goods imported from Russia were energy products such as crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas and coal (Aerts et al., 2020; CBS, 2022a). Due to sharp price falls and lower import volumes of energy products, imports from Russia fell sharply from the 2019 level of €12 billion. Imports from Ukraine amounted to €1.6 billion in 2020, including almost €1 billion of goods for intermediate consumption. Imports from Ukraine for further processing consisted mainly of agricultural products such as cereals and vegetable oils (CBS, 2022b). Previous CBS research into the security of supply of larger product groups identified maize from Ukraine and coal from Russia as products that are imported into the Netherlands from only one or a few countries and supplied to the global market by a limited number of countries (CBS, 2021).
China and the United States increase their market share in COVID year 2020
Whereas total goods imports fell by 8.8% in 2020, goods imports from China grew by 5.3% compared to 2019. Goods imports from China accounted for 9.9% of the total goods imports in 2020. After Germany, China was therefore the Netherlands’ main import partner for goods trade. Unlike the goods imports from the European Union, most goods imports from China (63%) were destined for re-export. Figure 7.3.3 looks at intermediate goods imports and shows that China’s importance has also increased, from 3.9% in 2015 to 5.1% in 2019 and 5.5% in 2020. China has become increasingly important as a supplier to Dutch enterprises in recent years (Aerts et al., 2020; CPB & CBS, 2022). Even when the pandemic broke out, a rise in goods imports was recorded compared to the previous year (CPB & CBS, 2022). This was due to imports for re-export, however, because intermediate goods imports from China decreased from €7.9 billion in 2019 to €7.7 billion in 2020. Imports from the United States also increased in the COVID year 2020, despite the overall fall in Dutch goods imports. In 2020 the United States’ share of imports for intermediate consumption was 6%, whereas in 2019 it was 5.5%.
| Germany | Belgium | Other EU | United Kingdom | Ukraine | Russia | Other Europe | United States | Other Americas | China | Other Asia | Rest of the world | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 16.1 | 9.5 | 13.9 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 8.1 | 25.8 |
| 2016 | 17.8 | 10.1 | 14.8 | 5.1 | 0.4 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 8.2 | 21.1 |
| 2017 | 17.0 | 10.4 | 14.9 | 5.3 | 0.5 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 4.6 | 9.1 | 20.1 |
| 2018 | 16.7 | 10.4 | 14.7 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 8.3 | 19.1 |
| 2019 | 17.0 | 10.3 | 15.1 | 5.7 | 0.6 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 8.0 | 19.7 |
| 2020 | 18.4 | 10.7 | 16.8 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 19.7 |
7.4Composition and origin of service imports
Despite the sharp fall in revenues of travel intermediaries and platforms due to the coronavirus crisis, business services remain dominant in service imports (Figure 7.4.1). The Netherlands imported business services worth €42 billion in 2020. In 2019 the figure was €48.6 billion.noot6 The bulk of business services (89.8%) were imported by enterprises for further processing. Of this €37.7 billion worth of imported business services for intermediate consumption, €24.1 billion was used to export goods and services from the Netherlands. Of these business services incorporated in exports, professional and management consulting services accounted for €12.5 billion and technical and trade-related services accounted for €11 billion.
No change in import value of payments for intellectual property
Payments to other countries for the use of intellectual property were the second main category, with an import value of €25 billion in 2020, the same value as in 2019. The majority of these (96%) were intended for intermediate consumption. Almost three-quarters of these intermediate imports were intended for further processing in Dutch exports of goods and services. Payments for the use of intellectual property rights include, for example, software licences and fees for the use of patents.
| Imports for intermediate consumption incorporated in domestic expenditure | Imports for intermediate consumption incorporated in exports | Imports intended for direct domestic expenditure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other business services | 13.7 | 24.1 | 4.3 |
| Royalties | 6.3 | 17.6 | 1.1 |
| ICT services | 5 | 7.5 | 4.4 |
| Transport services | 4.4 | 11.8 | 0.3 |
| Financial services | 5 | 3.1 | 0.2 |
| Travel | 0.8 | 0.6 | 5 |
| Manufacturing services | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| Construction | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Maintenance and repair | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0 |
The third largest category is ICT services, with an import value of €16.9 billion. Imports of ICT services rose by €1.3 billion in 2020. Of these €16.9 billion worth of imported ICT services, 74% were intended for intermediate consumption, and again the majority were incorporated in Dutch exports of goods and services. An example is imported specialist software support for enterprises. The remaining 26% were intended for domestic consumption, such as the use of telecommunications networks by Dutch consumers using their mobile telephones on holiday abroad.
Lower imports of travel and transport services due to coronavirus crisis
Imports of transport services amounted to €16.5 billion in 2020, €1.9 billion less than in the previous year. In 2020, 98% of imported transport services were intended for intermediate consumption, as in the case of Dutch enterprises hiring foreign lorry drivers or freight forwarders to transport goods, for example. Intermediate imports of transport services fell by 7% in value. The remaining 2% comprised imports of transport services for domestic expenditures, including passenger transport. These fell by as much as 65% due to the pandemic.
Travel also fell sharply in the COVID year 2020. Whereas travel imports amounted to €19.1 billion in 2019, the figure in 2020 was just €6.5 billion, a decrease of €12.6 billion, or 66%. Of the imports of travel services, 77% were intended for private consumption. These include expenditure by Dutch tourists abroad. Many foreign destinations were closed to Dutch tourists due to the pandemic. Other intermediate imports of travel services fall into the category of business travel.
US the largest supplier of intermediate services
Table 7.4.2 shows from which countries (or groups of countries) services are imported and how they are used in the Netherlands. The United States was the largest import partner for services in 2020 (€26.4 billion), followed by the United Kingdom (€17.3 billion) and Germany (€15.9 billion). The EU internal market, with €76.8 billion, accounted for 55% of total service imports. Imports from EU countries intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises amounted to €66.3 billion, representing 57% of total imports of services for intermediate consumption. Compared with goods imports, Russia, Ukraine, China and other Asian countries have a modest share of intermediate imports of services. Imports of services from the United States increased by €5.2 billion in 2020, mainly due to a sharp increase in imports of royalties. Imports of services from Germany decreased by €3.6 billion. Imports of services from other EU countries also fell sharply by €11.3 billion. This decrease was mainly due to the sharp fall in travel services resulting from the pandemic.
| Imports for domestic consumption | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports intended for direct domestic expenditures | |||
| domestic expenditures | exports | |||
| x bn euros | ||||
| Countries and continents | ||||
| Germany | 4.5 | 8.3 | 3.1 | 15.9 |
| Belgium | 3.1 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 9.3 |
| Other EU | 10.7 | 19.1 | 4.4 | 34.3 |
| United Kingdom | 5.7 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 17.3 |
| Ukraine | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Russia | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Other Europe | 1.8 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 6.2 |
| United States | 8.5 | 15.4 | 2.4 | 26.4 |
| Other America | 1.6 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 4.9 |
| China | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| Other Asia | 2.7 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 8.9 |
| Elsewhere | 1.5 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 15.6* |
* Including imports for re-export of services (without breakdown by destination)
Figure 7.4.3 shows that the EU countries’ share of total intermediate imports of services rose steadily between 2015 and 2019 from 54.4% to 61.4% (the EU-28 are shown from the left vertical axis to the first dark green bar). In 2020, this share fell to 57.5%. This was mainly due to a fall in imports of transport services resulting from the coronavirus crisis. Russia and Ukraine have negligible shares of service imports. China’s share of service imports is also significantly smaller than its share of goods imports and China’s importance has even decreased in recent years.
| Germany | Belgium | Other EU | United Kingdom | Ukraine | Russia | Other Europe | United States | Other Americas | China | Other Asia | Rest of the world | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10.2 | 5.7 | 23.3 | 15.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 16.1 | 14.2 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 6.6 | 1.9 |
| 2016 | 11.1 | 5.5 | 24.2 | 13.8 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 16.0 | 13.6 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 6.7 | 2.2 |
| 2017 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 27.1 | 12.6 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 6.6 | 2.3 |
| 2018 | 11.9 | 5.6 | 27.4 | 11.8 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 10.7 | 13.3 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| 2019 | 11.8 | 6.3 | 29.8 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 5.8 | 15.0 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 7.1 | 5.2 |
| 2020 | 11.1 | 6.9 | 25.8 | 13.6 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 20.7 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 6.2 | 5.3 |
7.5The importance of imports for Dutch exports
The coronavirus pandemic has shown that severe disruptions to global value chains can have major consequences for countries that are highly dependent on intermediate imports from abroad. The sections above have already shown that the Netherlands, which is generally active in global value chains, exports goods and services that require large quantities of goods imports and service imports in their production process. Chapter 6 of this publication showed that in 2020 each euro of domestic goods exported required approximately 45 cents of imported goods and services. This ‘import content’ was 37% in the case of Dutch service exports. This section looks in more detail at the origin and composition of the import flows incorporated in Dutch exports. It examines, for instance, which imports from which countries are incorporated in exports to certain major trading partners. It also looks at Dutch import dependence. Recent developments on the world stage, including the war in Ukraine, the prohibition of trading in many Russian products (including crucial products such as mineral fuels) and the resulting consequences for the global food and energy supply have shed light on certain dependencies between the Netherlands and those two countries. This chapter therefore examines the extent to which imports from Ukraine and Russia are incorporated in Dutch exports, looking among other things at imports of cereals and mineral fuels. Another key point concerns the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for imports incorporated in Dutch exports, by comparing those required imports between 2019 and 2020.
Imports incorporated in exports included a relatively larger proportion of services in 2020
As was shown earlier, goods exportsnoot7 rely heavily on imports of goods. Goods made up over three-quarters of total imports intended for goods exports in 2020 (Table 7.5.1)noot8 An almost identical pattern can be seen in exports of services: the majority (79%) of total imports for service exports consist of services. In both goods exports and service exports, the share of imported services grew by 2 percentage points relative to imported goods between 2019 and 2020. This is because goods imports as input for goods exports and service exports decreased much more sharply in that period compared to service imports. This means that the imports, which are to a large extent incorporated in Dutch exports, include a relatively larger proportion of foreign services. This may be because types of services that are essential for exports, e.g. royalties and ICT services, were less impeded by COVID-19, whereas certain intermediate goods exports were severely impacted (e.g. lower demand for petroleum and the shutting down of freight transport at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic).
| Year | Total exports | Value added | Of which required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| goods imports | service imports | ||||||
| million euros | % | million euros | % | ||||
| Goods exports | 2019 | 232,016 | 124,716 | 83,001 | 77 | 24,299 | 23 |
| 2020 | 213,676 | 119,848 | 70,738 | 75 | 23,090 | 25 | |
| Service exports | 2019 | 180,790 | 117,641 | 14,680 | 23 | 48,469 | 77 |
| 2020 | 159,322 | 104,544 | 11,635 | 21 | 43,143 | 79 | |
7.6International interrelatedness via Dutch imports and exports
The coronavirus crisis has clearly exposed the vulnerabilities of global value chains. All links in the chain have been impacted by the pandemic, and that applies particularly to countries that are generally active in long and geographically fragmented value chains. Table 7.6.1 illustrates the interrelatedness of the global economy via the Dutch chainnoot9 in 2020. Put another way, it shows to what extent imports of goods and services from one country (or region) are incorporated in exports to another country in 2020. For example, goods and services worth a total of €12.6 billion were imported from Belgium, and 14% of that – €1.7 billion – was incorporated in exports to Asia.noot10 At the same time, Dutch enterprises used €14.3 billion worth of imports to export goods and services to the American continent. Of these imports, 56% came from the EU (€7.8 billion), 21% from the American continent itself (€3.0 billion) and 11% from Asia (€1.5 billion).
European production chains remain dominant in the COVID year 2020
Once again, the figures show that the Netherlands plays an important role in intraregional trade within the European internal market, as was previously highlighted by Baldwin & Lopez-Gonzalez (2013) and which was also seen in 2019 (Bohn et al., 2021). It can be seen that this also applies in times of coronavirus. A large proportion of the imports incorporated in exports came from the EU-28 and went to another (or the same) EU-28 country (€46.7 billion, equivalent to 31.4% of total imports for intermediate consumption). A lot of trade therefore still takes place within the EU. In 2019, around €5 billion more imports from the EU were incorporated in exports to the EU than in 2020. This fall is mainly due to a decrease in imported services from the EU. The relative importance of the EU for its inputs into Dutch exports to other European countries nevertheless increased slightly: 30.5% of total intermediate imports related to Dutch exports to EU countries came from the EU in 2019. In 2020 this share rose to 31.4%.
Imports from the EU-28 intended for Dutch exports to all countries (both inside and outside the EU) are very high at 49% (€73.5 billion). In particular, the Netherlands needed a lot of imports from Germany (€20.4 billion; representing 28% of total imports from the EU), followed by Belgium with €12.6 billion (17%). Altogether, the imports used from all EU countries except Germany and Belgium amounted to €40.5 billion (55%).
Value of imports from Ukraine and Russia incorporated in exports is limited
Imports from Ukraine and Russia incorporated in Dutch exports are relatively limited and amounted to a total of €4.6 billion in 2020 (3% of total intermediate imports intended for export production). Imports from Russia (€3.8 billion) were more than five times higher than imports from Ukraine (€0.7 billion). Imports from Russia and Ukraine mainly related to goods. In 2019 the dependence on Ukraine and Russia for goods imports incorporated in exports was somewhat greater (6.7%), particularly due to a larger dependence on imports from Russia. Later in this chapter we will see that this import dependence applies particularly to a number of specific goods that are imported to a greater extent from those two countries and are crucial, such as cereals and petroleum.
Dependence on the United States grew in 2020
Outside Europe, the United States and China are once again important partners for imports to the Netherlands processed by Dutch enterprises. The two countries accounted for €22.4 billion, or 15%, of total imports incorporated in exports in 2020. Hence 30% of all goods and services imported from outside the EU for incorporation in Dutch exports originate from the US or China. It can also be seen that the coronavirus pandemic impacted the Dutch dependence on these two countries. Whereas imports from China intended for export production decreased slightly between 2019 and 2020 (from €4.1 billion in 2019 to €3.9 billion in 2020), such imports from the United States increased sharply (from €15.9 billion in 2019 to €18.5 billion in 2020). This is due particularly to an increase of over €2.6 billion in service imports from the United States that were ultimately required for Dutch exports.
The value of intermediate goods imports from China and the United States for export production remained almost unchanged in 2020. Despite China’s growing influence in recent years (Creemers et al., 2020; Draper, 2020), Dutch enterprises still need imports from the United States worth more than four times the value of imports from China in order to produce their exports. The United States is clearly a far more important supplier of services to Dutch enterprises (Notten & Voncken, 2019; Aerts et al., 2020). The import dependence on China is particularly evident when looking solely at goods imports. After all, imports from China consist almost entirely of goods, such as computers and related components. Looking exclusively at imports of goods, imports from the United States were almost twice as high as imports from China. Nevertheless, part of the imports from China (for example high-tech imports such as chips, road vehicles and specialised machinery) are crucially important for Dutch exports (Aerts et al., 2020). There is also an indirect import dependence on China, which, for example, supplies raw materials to other countries which then export to the Netherlands, such as Germany (CPB & CBS, 2022). This chapter does not cover the indirect portion.
7.7Unravelling export-related imports in more detail
Goods imports incorporated in exports
Figure 7.7.1noot11 shows the composition of goods importsnoot12 used in the production of Dutch exports in 2020. It distinguishes between chemical products; mineral fuels and raw materials; industrial products; machinery and transport equipment; cereals and cereal preparations; and other food and beverages.noot13 Imports of raw materials and mineral fuels with a total value of €20.6 billion were required to produce exports in 2020. Dutch enterprises used (i.e. imported) €13.9 billion worth of industrial products, €11.3 billion worth of food and beverages (including €1.9 billion of cereals and cereal preparations, a commodity which, like mineral fuels, is also the focus of much attention at the time of this publication due to the war in Ukraine), €12.9 billion of machinery and transport equipment and €9.1 billion of chemical products.
| Germany | Belgium | Other EU-28 | Ukraine | Russia | United States | Other Americas | China | Other Asia | Rest of the world | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical products | 2134 | 1851 | 2384 | 2 | 25 | 746 | 244 | 528 | 948 | 281 |
| Raw materials and mineral fuels | 975 | 1812 | 3967 | 70 | 3444 | 2502 | 1329 | 70 | 1795 | 4669 |
| Industrial products | 4122 | 1906 | 4340 | 22 | 124 | 486 | 113 | 1105 | 924 | 759 |
| Machinery and transport equipment | 3778 | 1141 | 3055 | 2 | 4 | 1703 | 83 | 1416 | 1477 | 269 |
| Cereals and cereal preparations | 448 | 254 | 738 | 340 | 1 | 2 | 73 | 2 | 24 | 6 |
| Other food and beverages | 1972 | 1518 | 1864 | 217 | 24 | 143 | 827 | 146 | 1127 | 1582 |
| Total | 13429 | 8482 | 16348 | 652 | 3623 | 5582 | 2669 | 3266 | 6295 | 7565 |
More than half of the goods imports destined for export production come from the EU-28
The EU as a whole is again the Netherlands’ main import partner. In Figure 7.7.1 the 28 countries making up the EU are shown from the vertical axis to the light green bar. The EU countries are responsible for well over half (56%) of the goods imports required for Dutch exports. In the previous year, the figure was 53%. The EU’s share exceeds 50% in every product category except raw materials and mineral fuels, which is the biggest import category (67% of which comes from non-EU countries). This dependence on the EU is generally slightly lower for imports of services from the EU (Figure 7.7.4).
In general, mineral fuels are incorporated particularly in exports of the same category (mineral fuels), but also in exports of organic chemicals, plastics in primary forms, manufacturing services and transport services. An example of this is crude oil imported through a Dutch port, processed into end-products in oil refineries (e.g. petrol, kerosene, diesel and LPG) or into semi-finished products (e.g. as a raw material for plastics that can be made into toys and packaging materials) for distribution to other countries.
Cereal imports incorporated in exports come mainly from Ukraine and the EU-28
The Netherlands is highly dependent on European countries for imports of cereals and cereal preparations (76%). The same applies to imports of industrial products (75%) and chemical products (70%). In addition to imports from the EU-28, 18% of cereals and cereal preparations incorporated in exports are imported from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest cereal producers. In 2019 the figure was 23%. Cereals such as maize are used to produce and export feeding stuff for animals, for example. Imports of cereals from the rest of the world (excluding the EU and Ukraine) are minimal. Except for the food and beverages category (and in particular the cereal and cereal preparations subcategory), Dutch export production relies only to a limited extent on imports from Ukraine (dark green strip in Figure 7.7.1).
The great importance of the EU-28 for imports of industrial and chemical products may be related to the outsourcing of such production to Central and Eastern Europe (Fritsch & Matthes, 2017). Belgium is also an important origin country for imports of chemical products: 20% of these came from Belgium, almost double the Belgian share of imports of all goods (12%). The limited import share of raw materials and mineral fuels from the EU-28 (33%) can be explained by the high level of imports from Russia (17% of total imports), the United States (12%) and all other non-EU countries (38%). The composition and origin of imports of mineral fuels will be examined in greater detail in the next section.
As mentioned, apart from the EU-28, China and the United States play an important role in Dutch imports for export production. Their cumulative share is between 11% and 24% in each of the product categories, except for cereals and cereal preparations (only 0.2%) and other food and beverages (3%). China was particularly important with regard to imports of machinery and transport equipment (China’s share was 11%) and to a certain extent industrial products (8%; both shares unchanged compared to 2019). 22% of imports of machinery and transport equipment come from Asia (including China). The United States was also important with regard to imports of machinery and transport equipment (13%; 2 percentage points more than in 2019) and raw materials and mineral fuels (12%; 2.5 percentage points more than in 2019). Of the total goods exports from America (i.e. the United States and the rest of America) to the Netherlands, raw materials and mineral fuels were the most important (19% of total imports in this category; in 2019 the figure was 15%). Around 10% of imported chemical products and food and beverages (excluding cereals) come from America. China has a smaller share (6% and 1.5% respectively).
Analysis of imports of mineral fuels for export production
It was already seen in the previous section that imports of mineral fuels, with an import value of €20.6 billion, were by far the most important import category in processing for exports (accounting for 30% of total goods imports required to generate exports). We also saw that a significant part of the mineral fuels category was imported from Russia (17%) and the United States (12%), but that most imports came from countries not stated separately in Figure 7.7.1. In view of the recent developments on the world stage and the heterogeneity of the various types of mineral fuels – these differences being significant among other things for the current sanctions policy – these imports are further subdivided and analysed in detail in this section, where possible. A significant part of these import flows are concentrated in a small group of enterprises and excessive detailed reporting on them could lead to the disclosure of company-specific information.
Four countries supply the Netherlands with 60% of the mineral fuels it needs for export production
Which countries do mineral fuels come from? And which import country is particularly important for which type of mineral fuel? Table 7.7.2 shows the three largest types of mineral fuels that are processed in Dutch exports – coal, petroleum and natural gas – with the main countries of origin. If we look at the total import value of all three categories combined, Russia (20.0%), the United Kingdom (14.1%), the United States (13.7%) and Norway (12.8%) rank highest. Hence, 60% of imports of mineral fuels that the Netherlands used for export production in 2020 came from these four countries.
Petroleum incorporated in exports is imported from a wide range of countries.
Petroleum is by far the most commonly imported category of the three types (accounting for 86% of the import value), with Russia again in first place (no value can be stated because of the risk of disclosure of company-specific information), followed by the United States and the United Kingdom (in the case of the US with more than €2 billion of imports). In general, it can be seen that many countries are involved in Dutch imports of petroleum and these also include well-known oil-producing countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria and Angola. In other words, there does not appear to be any overdependence on one (or more) countries for imports of petroleum that the Netherlands uses for exports.
Natural gas and coal imports concentrated in small number of partner countries
In the case of natural gas and coal, both of which have much smaller import values (€1.8 billion and €519 million of imports incorporated in exports respectively), we see a stronger pattern, with the bulk of the imported natural gas and coal coming from a limited number of countries. Due to the risk of disclosure, it is unfortunately not possible to publish a numerical breakdown of the origin of imports for export to each country. It can nevertheless be stated that more than 90% of all imported natural gas used in the Netherlands to produce exports comes from just four countries: Russia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Germany (with Germany being the origin country but not the country of origin). Imports of coal incorporated in Dutch exports are similarly concentrated in just a few countries: over 90% of the coal used to produce exports comes from Australia, Russia, the United States and Germany.
| Coal | Petroleum | Natural gas | Total | Share (total) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x bn euros | % | ||||
| Countries and continents | |||||
| Total | 0.519 | 14.649 | 1.829 | 16.996 | 100 |
| Russia | * | * | * | 3.403 | 20 |
| United Kingdom | 0 | * | * | 2.391 | 14.1 |
| United States | 0.099 | 2.202 | 0.020 | 2.321 | 13.7 |
| Norway | * | 1.288 | * | 2.171 | 12.8 |
| Belgium | * | 1.325 | * | 1.339 | 7.9 |
| Nigeria | * | 0.848 | 0.036 | 0.885 | 5.2 |
| Germany | * | 0.222 | * | 0.501 | 2.9 |
| Saudi Arabia | * | 0.495 | * | 0.495 | 2.9 |
| Iraq | * | 0.356 | * | 0.356 | 2.1 |
| Brazil | 0 | 0.254 | 0 | 0.254 | 1.5 |
* Confidentiality
Organic chemicals, machinery, and iron and steel are the main import products incorporated in exports after petroleum
Table 7.7.3 shows the origin of the top 20 product categories in imports incorporated in Dutch exports of goods and services in 2020, and how these have developed compared to 2019. By far the main category of imported goods incorporated in Dutch exports was crude oil and petroleum products. Imports of petroleum were worth €14.6 billion in 2020. In the previous year the figure was considerably higher, at €22.4 billion (over 35% higher). This decrease was mainly due to a lower import value driven by substantially lower oil prices.
The second largest category of imports was organic chemicals, with an import value of just under €3.7 billion. Around 61% of the required imports incorporated into exports came from the EU. Imports of this product category from the EU fell in 2020, whereas extra-EU imports rose. The main export products produced from imports of organic chemicals are products of the same category of organic chemicals (32%), plastics in primary forms (13%) and manufacturing services (12%), the majority being destined for the EU.
In third and fourth places respectively are specialised machinery (€3.4 billion) and iron and steel (€3 billion). These types of product are also mainly imported from the EU. In contrast to imports of organic chemicals, more of both categories was nevertheless imported in 2020 than in 2019, both from the EU (+16.2% and +14.4% respectively) and from non-EU countries (+8.6% and +8.0% respectively). Specialised machinery is also mainly used to export other machinery, generators and motors, while iron and steel is used in many different export products, such as machinery, metal goods and transport equipment.
Vehicles and vehicle parts for road transport (€2.6 billion; down sharply in 2020) complete the top 5 and are used among other things for exports of other transport equipment such as tractive units for semi-trailers, as well as for business and manufacturing services. Table 7.7.3 showed that very diverse categories of imported goods are generally required to produce exports, ranging from crude oil and petroleum products (e.g. to produce chemical products) to imports of road vehicles in order to export specialised engines. In the case of export markets, imports often end up in the EU through Dutch export products. According to Bohn et al. (2021), almost every import product is exported mainly to the EU (with the notable exception of various items of machinery produced in the Netherlands, which often also end up in Asia and America).
| Import value from EU-28 | Import value from non-EU-28 | Total imports | Change of value from EU-28 compared to 2019 | Change of value from non-EU-28 compared to 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x million euros | % | ||||
| Product category (SITC 2) | |||||
| Total | 38,585 | 43,787 | 82,373 | –6.9 | –22.1 |
| Crude oil and petroleum products | 4,252 | 10,397 | 14,649 | –29.5 | –36.6 |
| Organic chemicals | 2,240 | 1,426 | 3,666 | –18.2 | 10 |
| Specialised machinery | 2,042 | 1,310 | 3,353 | 16.2 | 8.6 |
| Iron and steel | 2,482 | 483 | 2,965 | 14.4 | 8 |
| Road vehicles | 1,965 | 595 | 2,560 | –24.8 | –19 |
| Electrical appliances, n.e.s. | 1,327 | 938 | 2,265 | –9 | –6.8 |
| Manufactures of metal, n.e.s. | 1,602 | 519 | 2,120 | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| Vegetable oils and fats | 518 | 1,371 | 1,889 | 7.3 | 5.2 |
| Cereals and cereal preparations | 1,440 | 448 | 1,889 | –3.2 | –22.5 |
| Gas, natural and manufactured | * | * | 1,829 | * | * |
| Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof | 375 | 1,255 | 1,631 | –1.1 | 7.1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s. | 1,200 | 430 | 1,630 | 0.5 | –7.6 |
| Miscellaneous machinery, n.e.s. | 1,105 | 466 | 1,571 | –16.3 | –15.5 |
| Paper and paper manufactures | 1,342 | 131 | 1,473 | –3.5 | –5.7 |
| Plastics in primary forms | 1,092 | 201 | 1,292 | –5.3 | 9.8 |
| Chemical materials and products, n.e.s. | 813 | 342 | 1,154 | –1.8 | 11.7 |
| Computers and office machines | 476 | 635 | 1,111 | 31.2 | 2.5 |
| Telecommunication apparatus | 285 | 823 | 1,107 | 14.2 | –6.7 |
| Dairy products and birds’ eggs | 1,022 | 7 | 1,029 | –2.9 | –32.3 |
| Non-ferrous metals | 638 | 365 | 1,003 | –13.5 | 7.8 |
* Confidentiality
The EU-28 remains the main supplier of goods, but became less important in relative terms in 2020.
For the production of Dutch exports, in the case of the top 20 products, the EU-28 was in relative terms the largest supplier of import products such as dairy products and birds’ eggs (99% of the import value of this category), paper and paper manufactures (91%), plastics in primary forms (84%), iron and steel (84%) and road vehicles (77%). Non-EU countries were of above-average importance as regions of origin for imports of coffee and tea (77% come from outside the EU-28), telecommunication apparatus (74%), vegetable oils and fats (73%), natural and manufactured gas (72%) and crude oil and petroleum products (71%).
Imports from Russia and Ukraine were concentrated in a small number of products. In the case of Ukraine, apart from cereals (see also Table 7.7.1; €340 million), vegetable oils and fats (€193 million), oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (€65 million) and iron and steel (€13 million) were also important. These four products made up 94% of imports from Ukraine used by the Netherlands for its exports. In the case of Russia, natural gas, iron and steel and coal, in addition to crude oil and petroleum products, jointly accounted for 96% of the total goods imports from Russia incorporated in Dutch exports.
In 2020, imports of goods from EU-28 countries decreased by 6.9%, while imports from non-EU countries fell by as much as 22.1%. A key reason was that petroleum imports plummeted due to the collapse in oil prices. If imports of crude oil and petroleum products are excluded, the picture is more nuanced; imports from EU countries then show a steeper fall (–3.7%) than imports from non-EU countries (–2.3%).
Service imports incorporated in exports often of EU-28 origin
Figure 7.7.4 shows the top 5 imported services used for Dutch exports in 2020 (with all other services being combined as the sixth category). The ’other business services’ category came first, with an import value of €19.3 billion, followed by imports of royalties (fees for intellectual property), with a value of €14.4 billion. Imports in the transport services category amounted to €9.5 billion and imports of ICT services to €6.4 billion. These four categories collectively made up 85% of total imports of services required to produce exports in 2020. These imported services are used not only to facilitate exports of incorporated services (such as software or consulting services), but also in the production of various export goods such as cars, chemical products and machinery; this is also known as the ‘servicification’ of industrial exports and is related to the outsourcing of service activities by industrial enterprises (Bohn et al., 2022).
Over 60% of imported services came from the EU-28 in 2020, emphasising the above-average importance of the EU-28 in Dutch imports of services for export production. The category with the largest EU-28 share was manufacturing services, with 86%, although imports in this category were fairly modest (€3.0 billion, i.e. around 5% of total imports of services incorporated in exports). The smallest EU-28 share is in payments for intellectual property (35%). This is due to the major role of the United States in imports of intellectual property (Aerts et al., 2020). The United States is also the main supplier of services after the EU-28 as a whole. This includes cases where, for example, a Dutch enterprise purchases a licence to use a software product developed in the United States. Other examples are payments of royalties for movies and music, and franchise fees in the commercial sector and accommodation and food services sector.
Almost two-thirds of service imports incorporated in exports are destined for the EU-28.
Looking at the markets for exports, we find that in 2020 63% of services used in total Dutch exports were destined for the EU. The main export markets for the incorporated service imports were Germany (16%), the United Kingdom (13%), the United States (8%), Belgium (7%) and France (7%). Among the main imported services (other business services, royalties, transport services and ICT services), the top 5 sales markets were all the same, with slight differences in the order and shares of the various countries (Germany, for example, was slightly more important as a sales market for transport services, with a share of 19%). Germany topped every category as the main sales market and was always followed by the United Kingdom in second place.
Service imports from the EU-28 during the COVID year fell more sharply than goods imports intended to be incorporated in exports
Generally it can be seen that service imports from the EU-28 incorporated in exports were more impacted by the coronavirus pandemic than service imports from non-EU countries, also relative to goods imports. Service imports from EU-28 countries for incorporation in exports fell by 14% in 2020 compared to the previous year (in the case of goods the decrease was 7%). Service imports from non-EU countries decreased less sharply (by –2.6%). In the case of goods the decrease from non-EU countries was greater at –22%, particularly due to the decrease in mineral fuels. Some services were hit harder than others. Imports of business services and other services for export fell by around 18% in 2020; transport services (–8%) and manufacturing services (–5%) also contracted due to the coronavirus pandemic. For some categories, imports of services, mainly from non-EU countries, even rose, with increases particularly in imports of ICT services (+33%), other services (+14%) and royalties (+10%) from non-EU countries.
| Germany | Belgium | Other EU-28 | Ukraine | Russia | United States | Other Americas | China | Other Asia | Rest of the world | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other business services | 2262 | 1306 | 8769 | 9 | 131 | 2720 | 858 | 360 | 2108 | 760 |
| Manufacturing services | 572 | 374 | 1628 | 0 | 3 | 235 | 17 | 11 | 39 | 111 |
| ICT services | 730 | 290 | 2846 | 15 | 20 | 1134 | 293 | 58 | 654 | 337 |
| Royalties | 1166 | 354 | 3478 | 0 | 5 | 6640 | 679 | 71 | 275 | 1764 |
| Transport services | 1499 | 1084 | 4697 | 9 | 39 | 713 | 298 | 122 | 377 | 663 |
| Other services | 619 | 649 | 2608 | 1 | 7 | 1436 | 358 | 20 | 205 | 181 |
| Total | 6847 | 4057 | 24027 | 34 | 205 | 12877 | 2502 | 641 | 3658 | 3815 |
7.8References
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Noten
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from the other marginals shown on StatLine or in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of this publication, which are based on the source statistics.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from the other marginals shown on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on the trade statistics.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from other data shown on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on the trade statistics.
Chemical products comprise the sum of SITC 2 categories 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59.
As a result of a methodological improvement, the figures at country level differ from the figures published last year in Chapter 6 of Dutch Trade in Facts and Figures (Bohn, et al., 2021).
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from other data reported on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on trade statistics.
This section only concerns imports used by enterprises for exports of domestic goods and services; it does not include re-exports.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from data reported on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on trade statistics.
It should be noted that this chapter only looks at the Dutch/domestic chain. This means that Dutch interconnectedness with various countries relates only to direct imports and exports between the Netherlands and markets abroad. Of course, the Netherlands may also be connected to other countries through global value chains, such as with China or the United States through an import product from Germany. The CBS source data used do not allow an examination of such indirect dependencies between the Netherlands and other countries through other links in the chain. An analysis of indirect dependencies and global chain analyses requires an analysis with multiregional input-output tables instead of CBS source data.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from data reported on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on trade statistics.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data from the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from the other marginals shown on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on the trade statistics.
This section only concerns imports used by enterprises for exports of domestic goods and services; it does not include re-exports. Part of the imports in Table 7.6.1 are not shown here because they cannot be linked to a product.
The various product categories are based on the one-digit SITC classification. The SITC-1 category ‘food and beverages’ has been divided into two parts in Figure 7.7.1: ‘cereals and cereal preparations’ and ‘other food and beverages’.