Use of imports in the Dutch economy
The Dutch economy is closely connected to other countries because it operates as part of global value chains. The Netherlands is a major hub for global trade due to its integration with intraregional trade in the European single market. Dutch enterprises process imported goods into intermediate and final products which are then often re-exported. This chapter takes a closer look at the origin and composition of Dutch import flows in 2022. How are these imports of goods and services used within the Dutch economy? Do Dutch enterprises use them in domestic production or do they leave the country again as re-exports without further processing? Dutch enterprises typically import goods and services which are more efficient to produce abroad or which they cannot produce themselves. A significant proportion of these goods and services determine the Netherland’s competitiveness in the world market.
7.1Key findings
How imports are used
- The infographic at the beginning of this chapter shows what happens to imports after they have entered the Netherlands. In 2022, the Netherlands imported a record €795.2bn worth of goods and services from other countries, of which €621.3bn was related to goods and €173.9bn to services.
- In 2022, a substantial proportion of total goods and services imports (41%) was sent directly abroad in the form of re-exports. The vast majority of these re-exports involved goods. Imports of goods and services destined directly for domestic consumption account for 10% and 3% of total imports, respectively. Imports of intermediate goods and services used by Dutch enterprises for the production of goods and the rendering of services had a share of 29% and 17%, respectively.
- Compared to 2021, imports of goods and services increased by 25.4%. Goods imports saw an increase in value of 27.2%, mainly driven by a 24.9% rise in import prices; the increase in volume was a modest 1.8%. In 2022, the value of services imports rose by €28bn or 19.2%, due to increases in import volumes by 10.5% and import prices by 7.8%.
Composition and origin of goods imports
- More than half of all goods imports (€312.6bn) were destined for re-export in 2022, and this share has been on the rise in recent years. Goods imports destined for direct domestic consumption had a value of €78.4bn in 2022. Intermediate goods imports amounted to €230.3bn in 2021: 34% of these were processed by Dutch firms to produce goods or services that were sold on the domestic market and 66% were exported after processing in the Netherlands.
- In 2022, crude oil and petroleum products was the most important category of goods imported for re-export. Crude oil and petroleum products was also the largest category of intermediate goods imports: 80% of goods in this category were processed into goods or services destined for export. Road vehicles, natural gas and clothing dominated the imports of goods for direct domestic consumption.
- Imported goods destined for re-export came mainly from Germany and China in 2022. Germany and Belgium were the main import partners for intermediate goods imports and imports intended for direct domestic consumption.
- In 2022, the oil-refining and chemical industries experienced explosive growth in the intermediate import value due to the global rise in energy prices, which translated into steep increases in import prices. The electronics and transport equipment industries, on the other hand, recorded a drop in intermediate imports in 2021 and 2022. Import volumes fell, which can partially be explained by the worldwide shortages of semiconductors.
Composition and origin of services imports
- Services imports destined for direct domestic consumption had a total value of €27.2bn in 2022. Intermediate services imports amounted to €137.3bn in 2022, 35% of which were further processed by Dutch firms into goods or services that were sold on the domestic market, while 65% were exported abroad after processing in the Netherlands.
- Business services was the largest category of intermediate services imports, with 57% being further processed into exported goods or services. Services imports destined for direct domestic consumption amounted to 15.1bn in travel services, €4.9bn in ICT services and €4.3bn in business services.
- With respect to intermediate services imports, the US and the UK were the most important import partners. Services intended for domestic consumption came mainly from Germany and the US.
The importance of imports to Dutch exports
- In the period between 2019 and 2022, the Dutch economy earned less value added per euro from domestic exports, as more imports were used to produce those exports. This was mainly caused by higher prices for imported goods. The prices paid for imported goods used to produce exports increased by 57% in the period between 2019 and 2022, while the increase in export prices was lower at 33%. This increase was mainly at the expense of the share of services imports processed into exports. The share of processed services imports decreased more than the share of value added or export earnings. Partly because of this, export earnings kept up fairly well. Earnings in terms of volume also surpassed export sales.
- Earnings per euro of services exports actually increased in the period between 2019 and 2022, which means that the import content of services exports dropped. For services exports, the prices of the required imports did not rise as fast as the import prices required for goods exports. Between 2019 and 2022, export prices of services increased by 10.9%, while import prices of goods and services embodied in services imports rose by 15%.
International linkages through Dutch imports and exports
- The Netherlands is as a major hub in intraregional trade in the European single market. A large proportion of the imports that are processed into exports (to the value of €50.4bn and representing 22.7% of total imports for the purpose of intermediate consumption) came from the EU-27 and were subsequently exported to the EU-27 again. This share was 0.5 percentage points lower than in 2021, despite the fact that the value of these imports was almost €10bn higher. A lot of trade still takes place within the EU, but noticeably less than before the UK exited the EU.
- Apart from Europe, with €27.2bn and €6.4bn respectively, the US and China were once again key suppliers for imports processed by Dutch enterprises.
Further analysing export-related imports
- In 2022, a total of €56.8bn worth of imports of raw materials and mineral fuels and €20.3bn in industrial products were needed to produce exports.
- There is a high degree of dependence on the EU-27 for imports needed for the production of exports in the areas of industrial products (69% from EU-27), food and beverages (64%) and chemical products (63%).
- In 2022, a total of €25bn business services imports and €13.8bn worth of transport services imports were needed to produce exports. Domestic enterprises also paid €15.5bn worth of licences and royalties to foreign countries needed in export production.
- In 2022, nearly half of the imported services came from the EU-27. Both the EU share and the shares of major export markets remained virtually unchanged compared to 2021.
Outline
Section 7.2 gives a description of the use of goods and services imports in the Netherlands in 2022. Which imports are intended for direct consumption in the Netherlands and which imports leave the country as re-exports? Which products and services are used as intermediate inputs in Dutch production? Section 7.3 provides more details on the composition and origin of goods imports, while section 7.4 does the same for the import of services. The importance of imports to Dutch exports is discussed in section 7.5. That section looks at the economic recovery of the Dutch trade after the COVID-19 pandemic, which also gave rise to an increasing import content in exports in 2022. Was the growth in monetary value of these processed imports essentially a price effect or a volume effect? Section 7.6 examines which imports from which countries are incorporated into exports for certain major trading partners. For example, did imports mainly come the EU or did they come from non-EU countries in 2022? Imports associated with exports are further analysed in section 7.7. This adds a product dimension to the analysis of imported products and services processed into Dutch exports.
7.2The various import flows
This section describes how goods and services imported into the Netherlands in 2022 were used. What exactly happens to the goods and services that enter the Netherlands? What proportion of those imports are used in production processes in the Netherlands? And what proportion is destined for use by Dutch households (both for consumption or investment)? Which types of imports leave the Netherlands as re-exports with minimal processing? Given that 2022 was characterised by huge price increases, a breakdown between volume changes and price changes is provided where possible.
In 2022, imports of goods and services into the Netherlands reached a record value of €795bn. This represents an increase of €161bn (+25.4%) compared to 2021. Goods imports recorded the highest increase in value at €133bn (+27.2%). This was predominantly due to higher import prices. Compared to 2021, prices rose by 24.9%, while the increase in volume remained at a modest 1.8%. In 2021, the rise in goods imports by volume was 9.5%.
This large volume increase in 2021 related to baseline effects, as the Dutch economy saw temporary business closures in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When comparing the volumes of 2022 with these exceptionally low volumes in 2020, the differences appear to be great. In 2022, the value of services imports rose by €28bn or 19.2%, pushing up import volumes by 10.5% and import prices by 7.8% (CBS, 2023). Trade in goods was able to rebound much more quickly from the COVID-19 crisis than trade in services, with travel services and tourism being affected by travel restrictions for much longer.
It should be noted that this chapter only looks at the domestic chain. This means that Dutch links only relate to direct flows between the Netherlands and partner countries, not to indirect trade through third countries.noot1
| Imports voor domestic consumption | Imports directly destined for foreign markets (re-exports) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports intended for direct domestic consumption | ||||
| domestic consumption | export | ||||
| bn euros | |||||
| Goods imports | 79.0 | 151.3 | 78.4 | 312.6 | 621.3 |
| Services imports | 48.5 | 88.7 | 27.2 | 9.4 | 173.9 |
| Total | 127.5 | 240.0 | 105.7 | 322.1 | 795.2 |
Imports for re-exports continue to be the main trade flow
Table 7.2.1 and the infographic at the beginning of this chapter show that a considerable proportion of goods imports leave the country again as basically unprocessed re-exports. About half of goods imports were destined for re-export, and this share has increased in recent years. Figure 7.2.2 shows that approximately 46% of goods imports were destined for re-export in 2015. This share has since grown to about 50% in 2022. An example of imports for re-export are imports of vegetables from Spain which become the property of Dutch entities and are then exported again to third countries such as Belgium without any further processing. Previous research shows that a large proportion of goods imports from Asia are destined for re-export to the rest of Europe (Franssen et al., 2020). Re-exports only comprise a small proportion of total services imports. Figure 7.2.3 shows that approximately 5% of services imports were destined for re-export in 2022. Re-exported services mainly involve royalties and licences of special purpose entities registered in the Netherlands that manage intellectual property rights and transfer the payments they collect directly to foreign parent companies (Mellens, et al., 2011; CBS, 2016).
| Jaar | Intermediate imports processedfor domestic consumption | Intermediate imports processed for export |
Direct imports for domestic consumption |
Imports for re-export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 44.3 | 90.0 | 55.7 | 162.8 |
| 2016 | 45.2 | 85.5 | 58.1 | 166.3 |
| 2017 | 47.8 | 96.8 | 59.9 | 184.3 |
| 2018 | 51.4 | 104.7 | 61.7 | 195.5 |
| 2019 | 54.1 | 101.0 | 68.0 | 207.1 |
| 2020 | 50.8 | 86.9 | 62.9 | 196.8 |
| 2021 | 60.6 | 109.2 | 68.5 | 250.0 |
| 2022 | 79.0 | 151.3 | 78.4 | 312.6 |
| Jaar | Intermediate imports processedfor domestic consumption | Intermediate imports processed for export |
Direct imports for domestic consumption |
Imports for re-export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 33.1 | 67.6 | 52.3 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 35.3 | 66.2 | 23.5 | 10.9 |
| 2017 | 38.1 | 73.1 | 25.2 | 11.1 |
| 2018 | 41.0 | 83.3 | 25.8 | 10.4 |
| 2019 | 41.9 | 81.4 | 26.8 | 11.1 |
| 2020 | 42.2 | 78.7 | 16.2 | 8.7 |
| 2021 | 44.1 | 78.6 | 17.8 | 5.5 |
| 2022 | 48.5 | 88.7 | 27.2 | 9.4 |
Imports of goods and services for direct consumption back to pre-pandemic levels
In addition to imports destined for re-export, goods and services imports for direct domestic consumption are not subject to any significant processing by Dutch enterprises. In 2022, the Netherlands imported €105.7bn worth of goods and services that were consumed directly by Dutch households or government organisations and enterprises in the form of investments. A bottle of wine produced and bottled in Italy is an example of an import for direct consumption by Dutch households. Imports of goods intended for direct consumption had a total value of €78.4bn in 2022, which represented an increase of €9.9bn (+14%) compared to 2021. Compared to 2019, this was 15.4% higher. Figure 7.2.2 shows that the relative share of imports of goods destined for direct consumption has declined over the years. This share was between 15% and 16% in the years 2015–2019. In 2022, the share of goods imports for direct consumption is equivalent to 13%.
Imports of services destined for direct consumption amounted to €27.2bn in 2022, which was an increase of €0.4bn (+2%) compared to 2019. Consumption by Dutch tourists abroad makes up the majority of imports in this category. This is clearly reflected in the years 2020 and 2021. In comparison with 2019, the share of services imports destined for direct consumption dropped by 11% in 2020 and 12% in 2021, which can mainly be explained by the decline in the number of Dutch tourists abroad during the COVID-19 crisis.
Intermediate imports of goods and services
Approximately 46% of imported goods and services were intended for further processing by enterprises in the Netherlands. These imports, also referred to as intermediate imports, amounted to €367.5bn in 2022. Intermediate imports can be subdivided into intermediate imports of goods (€230.3bn) and intermediate imports of services (€137.3bn). Intermediate imports are further processed by domestic enterprises into goods or services that are sold on the Dutch market or abroad. Approximately a third (€79bn) of the intermediate imports processed into goods and services in 2022 were sold on the domestic market; two-thirds (€151.3bn) were destined for foreign markets. An example of intermediate goods imports which are processed into Dutch exports are electronic components imported from Malaysia. The relative shares of processed intermediate services imports for the domestic market and the foreign market were similar, at €48.5bn and €88.7bn, respectively. Dutch enterprises in wholesale trade that hire foreign transport enterprises for land transportation are an example of intermediate services imports that are used in Dutch production processes. Intermediate imports destined to be processed into export products grew by €57.7bn in 2022, or 31.7%, compared to the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019. Sections 7.5 to 7.7 look in more detail at these import flows.
7.3Composition and origin of goods imports
Figure 7.3.1 shows that crude oil and petroleum products again proved to be the largest category of goods imports 2022. Compared to 2021, imports of these goods increased by €38.6bn or 80.4%. This sharp rise was caused by an increase in oil prices due to the recovery in global demand for fuel. Imported crude oil and petroleum products are largely destined for re-export; however, compared to 2021, the share of imports for further processing into Dutch exports has grown. Crude oil and petroleum products also have the highest import value of any goods category imported for further processing for domestic consumption, at around €8bn. Totalling €7.4bn, natural gas and industrial gas are also important import products that are processed for domestic consumption. Goods imports in the category of electrical devices and equipment had an import value of €36.6bn, and approximately 69.7% were destined for re-export. Compared to 2021, imports of electrical devices and equipment grew by 18.1%.
| Beschrijving | Intermediate imports processed for domestic consumption | Intermediate imports processed for export | Direct imports for domestic consumption | Imports for re-export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude oil and petroleum products | 8.0 | 39.7 | 0.9 | 37.9 |
| Natural gas and gas for industry | 7.4 | 10.8 | 7.8 | 20.5 |
| Electrical devices and equipment | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 25.5 |
| Telecommunication and audio equipment |
1.3 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 19.1 |
| Various manufactured goods | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 16.9 |
| Office and automatic data-processing equipment |
1.2 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 18.4 |
| Vehicles for road transport | 1.5 | 3.7 | 12 | 5.9 |
| Organic chemical products | 0.7 | 9.0 | 0.1 | 10.5 |
| Medicanents and pharmaceutical products |
2.4 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 12.1 |
| Various machinery | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 9.8 |
Crude oil was the largest category of goods imported for re-export
The infographic at the beginning of this chapter shows that, as in 2021, imports for re-export, amounting to €312.6bn and a share of 40%, continued to represent the main import flow entering the Netherlands in 2022. As Figure 7.3.1 shows, the largest goods category within this flow comprised crude oil and petroleum products. In this category, imports for re-export amounted to €37.9bn, which represented an increase of 58.6% over 2021. This large increase is mainly explained by the effects of the war in Ukraine and the resulting price increases. Trade in natural gas also saw steep price increases. Natural gas imported for the purpose of re-exports amounted to approximately €20.5bn in 2022, which was an increase of about 260% compared to 2021. This continued a trend; natural gas imported for re-export had already tripled in 2021 compared to the year before.
Crude oil and natural gas important for both re-exports and domestic processing
Intermediate goods imports peaked at €230.3bn in 2022, which was up by €33.5bn and 35.6% on 2021. Figure 7.3.1 shows that crude oil and petroleum products and natural gas and industrial gas proved to be the largest intermediate goods import category, totalling €47.7bn and €22.7bn. Approximately 80% of the imported crude oil processed by enterprises in the Netherlands was destined for export and 20% for domestic consumption. Examples of intermediate imports of crude oil and petroleum products are crude oil that is refined into petroleum products, but also serves as a raw material for the manufacturing of plastics. Petroleum products such as marine diesel and paraffin can also be included in this category. Imports of chemical products are another product category where imports are ultimately incorporated into export products. In 2022, the import value of chemical products was €20.4bn, approximately half of which were used for export-oriented production processes.
Vehicles and clothing mainly imported for domestic consumption.
In 2022, goods imports directly destined for domestic consumption amounted to €78.4bn or 12.6% of the total goods imports. Among these imports, the largest goods category comprised road transport vehicles, with an import value of €12bn, natural gas and industrial gas, with an import value of €7.8bn and clothing and accessories with an import value amounting to €4.4bn. Together, these three categories represent 30.9% of total imports for direct consumption. More than half of imports of road transport vehicles, such as passenger cars and motor vehicles, are therefore destined directly for Dutch consumers or businesses (CBS, 2024a).
Germany continues to be the most important trading partner for goods imports
Table 7.3.2 shows the various import categories for the top Dutch import partners. As in previous years, in 2022, Germany continued to be the most important trading partner for the import of goods with an import value of €95.7bn, followed by Belgium and China. The EU-27 accounted for 43.5% of total goods imports into the Netherlands.
| Imports voor domestic consumption | Imports destined directly for foreign markets (re-exports) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports destined directly for domestic consumption | ||||
| domestic consumption | exports | ||||
| bn euros | |||||
| Countries and country groups | |||||
| Germany | 14.0 | 22.1 | 16.1 | 43.6 | 95.7 |
| Belgium | 8.5 | 15.4 | 8.7 | 27.4 | 60.1 |
| EU-27, other | 14.5 | 21.0 | 17.4 | 65.7 | 118.7 |
| United Kingdom | 3.8 | 8.7 | 3.7 | 19.7 | 35.8 |
| Ukraine | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Russia | 2.3 | 6.4 | 1.0 | 7.3 | 16.9 |
| Europe, other | 4.0 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 17.7 | 32.8 |
| United States | 5.1 | 12.4 | 4.8 | 24.2 | 46.5 |
| Americas, other | 2.5 | 7.2 | 1.7 | 13.7 | 25.1 |
| China | 5.7 | 6.1 | 8.0 | 39.2 | 59.0 |
| Asia, other | 6.3 | 15.4 | 7.2 | 48.0 | 76.8 |
| Rest of the World | 10.4 | 24.6 | 10.3 | 17.1 | 62.4 |
EU-27 provides almost half of intermediate input for Dutch production
Imports from EU countries that were used for further processing by enterprises in the Netherlands amounted to €95.5bn, which was 42.6% of total intermediate goods imports. Figure 7.3.3 shows that the share of the EU-27, which comprises Germany, Belgium and other EU member states, declined in 2021 and 2022 compared to 2020. This may be explained by price rises for crude oil and natural gas which are mainly imported from non-EU countries. As a result of these price increases, the import value from non-EU countries rose at a higher rate than the import value from EU countries, causing the share of the EU-27 countries to fall. In 2022, German imports represented around 16.0% of total goods imports, compared to 18.8% in 2021, and 19.2% in 2022. Imports from other EU member states (excluding Germany and Belgium) also dropped by around 2.3 percentage points in 2022 compared to 2021.
| Landen | Germany | Belgium | Other EU | UK | Ukraine | Russia | Europe, other | US | Americas, other | China | Asia, other | Rest of the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022* | 16.0 | 10.6 | 15.8 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 9.6 | 15.6 |
| 2021 | 18.8 | 11.4 | 17.0 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 3.2 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 14.1 |
| 2020 | 19.2 | 11.3 | 18.1 | 5.2 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 3.2 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 12.5 |
| 2019 | 18.3 | 11.1 | 16.5 | 6.1 | 0.6 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 9.3 | 12.1 |
| 2018 | 18.1 | 11.4 | 16.4 | 6.9 | 0.4 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 6.4 | 10.0 | 10.4 |
| 2017 | 18.4 | 11.3 | 16.9 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 6.0 | 10.9 | 11.1 |
| 2016 | 18.9 | 11.1 | 17.0 | 5.6 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 10.1 | 11.8 |
| 2015 | 17.3 | 10.4 | 16.6 | 5.0 | 0.4 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 2.9 | 5.6 | 10.4 | 15.6 |
Intermediate goods imports can be further broken down into imports by sectors and industries. Table 7.3.4, for example, shows that the commercial services industry imported intermediate goods worth €55.8bn in 2022. Other large importers of intermediate goods include the oil-refining industry, the chemical industry and the food, beverages and tobacco industry. Columns 3–5 of table 7.3.4 show the year-on-year changes by sector and industry. The value of intermediate goods imports for the oil-refining industry fell by 33% between 2019 and 2020, only to climb again by more than 60% over two consecutive years. However, this does not necessarily mean that the import volume also changed. We further break down changes in value into changes in volume, as presented in columns 6–8, and changes in price, as shown in columns 9–11. Table 7.3.4 clearly shows that the substantive changes in value of the imports in this industry in 2021 and 2022 can largely be explained by price changes. The drop in goods imports for the electrotechnical industry, on the other hand, was mainly caused by a fall in import volume. In 2021 and 2022, this industry saw disruptions in the supply chain as a result of problems with the supply of microchips and semiconductors (Notten, 2022). The motor vehicle and trailer industry was also affected by shortages of semiconductors (CBS, 2022).
| 2022* imports | Value changes | Volume changes | Price changes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022* | 2020 | 2021 | 2022* | 2020 | 2021 | 2022* | ||
| bn euros | % | |||||||||
| Branch of industry | ||||||||||
| Agriculture | 3.9 | –8 | 20 | 55 | –3 | 2 | –3 | –5 | 17 | 58 |
| Forestry en fisheries | 0.1 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 6 | –5 | –10 | 3 | 23 | 27 |
| Mineral extraction | 0.2 | 2 | 27 | 42 | 2 | 5 | –3 | 0 | 22 | 47 |
| Food, beverages and tobacco industry | 29.2 | 0 | 11 | 27 | –1 | –2 | –1 | 1 | 14 | 28 |
| Textile, clothing and leather industry | 1.5 | –10 | 28 | 15 | –7 | 18 | –5 | –3 | 8 | 21 |
| Timber, paper and printing industry | 6 | –9 | 29 | 30 | –5 | 11 | 0 | –4 | 17 | 30 |
| Oil-refining industry | 42.6 | –33 | 65 | 62 | –4 | 4 | –1 | –31 | 59 | 64 |
| Chemical industry | 26.3 | –16 | 55 | 41 | –4 | 16 | –2 | –13 | 34 | 44 |
| Pharmaceutical industry | 2.4 | 12 | 29 | 28 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 17 |
| Rubber and synthetics industry | 3.5 | –4 | 29 | 10 | 3 | 2 | –10 | –7 | 26 | 23 |
| Building materials industry | 2.1 | –3 | 15 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 4 | –2 | 8 | 29 |
| Basic metal industry | 5.7 | –12 | 48 | 44 | –11 | 3 | 0 | –1 | 43 | 44 |
| Metal products industry | 6.1 | –5 | 34 | 23 | –1 | 11 | 0 | –4 | 21 | 22 |
| Electronics industry | 4 | –12 | –50 | –2 | –10 | –51 | –10 | –2 | 3 | 9 |
| Electrical equipment industry | 2.9 | –3 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 13 | 3 | –4 | 11 | 21 |
| Machinery industry | 12.6 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | –1 | 4 | 11 |
| Motor vehicle and trailer industry | 5.5 | –24 | –3 | 11 | –23 | –7 | –1 | –1 | 4 | 12 |
| Other transport equipment industry | 3.3 | –4 | 4 | 26 | –3 | –1 | 11 | –2 | 5 | 13 |
| Furniture industry | 1.4 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 15 | 6 | –8 | –2 | 14 | 19 |
| Other industry and repair industry | 2.8 | –4 | 8 | 18 | 0 | –1 | –1 | –4 | 9 | 20 |
| Commercial services | 55.8 | –10 | 23 | 43 | –4 | 6 | 4 | –6 | 16 | 38 |
| Public administration, education, health care | 10 | 9 | 28 | 13 | 9 | 18 | –8 | 0 | 8 | 23 |
| Other | 2.3 | –14 | 15 | 54 | –12 | 5 | 17 | –3 | 10 | 31 |
7.4Composition and origin of services imports
This section details the use, composition and origin of Dutch services imports. In 2022, business services (such as legal services and accounting) were again the largest category of services imports, as Figure 7.4.1 shows. The Netherlands imported €51.7bn worth of business services, representing an increase of €4.1bn (+8.6%) relative to 2021. Approximately 92% of business services were imported by enterprises for further processing or to be able to provide services, such as ICT services and R&D services and fees for the use of intellectual property (Bohn et al., 2022). Of this 92%, 35 percentage points were processed for domestic consumption and 57 percentage points for the export of goods and services. Transport services were the second-largest category, with a 19.4% increase compared to 2021. At 98.1%, transport services were destined almost entirely for intermediate consumption. Royalties, such as franchises and licence fees, ranked third among the largest categories of imported services, with an import value of €22.9bn. Ranked fourth were ICT services with an import value of €19.1bn and an increase of 15.4% compared to 2021.
| Product | Intermediate imports | Intermediate imports processed for export |
Direct imports for domestic consumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other business services | 17.8 | 29.6 | 4.3 |
| Transport services | 5.8 | 16.7 | 0.9 |
| Royalties | 5.1 | 17.5 | 0.3 |
| ICT services | 5.9 | 8.3 | 4.9 |
| Travel services | 1.8 | 1.5 | 15.1 |
| Insurance services | 5.6 | 3.0 | 0.2 |
| Industrial services | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0.1 |
| Construction services | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Maintenance and repairs | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Cultural and recreation services |
1.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 |
Table 7.4.2 shows from which countries or groups of countries services are imported and how they are used in the Dutch economy. In 2022, the US was again the largest import partner for services (€28.7bn), followed by the UK and Germany. The EU single market as a whole accounted for €82.2bn worth of imported services. Imports of services from the US rose by 5.5% relative to 2021. Germany and the group of other EU countries showed marked increases of 25.2% and 23%, respectively, compared to 2021.
| Imports voor domestic consumption | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| imports for intermediate consumption | imports destined directly for domestic consumption | |||
| domestic consumption | exports | |||
| bn euros | ||||
| Countries and country groups | ||||
| Germany | 5.2 | 9.1 | 4.2 | 18.4 |
| Belgium | 3.5 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 10.3 |
| EU-27, other | 15.1 | 28.7 | 9.7 | 53.5 |
| United Kingdom | 6.7 | 10.4 | 2.2 | 19.2 |
| Ukraine | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Russia | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Europe, other | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 5.3 |
| United States | 8.2 | 17.4 | 3.1 | 28.7 |
| Americas, other | 1.9 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 6.1 |
| China | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Asia, other | 4.8 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 14.3 |
| Rest of the World | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
Figure 7.4.3 shows the shares of various countries and regions in total intermediate services imports between 2015 and 2022. The share of EU countries in these imports accounted for 50.6% in 2022 and has been growing steadily since 2015, when their share was at 39.8%. Within ‘other EU member states’, Ireland, France and Poland are important countries of origin for services imports. The growth of EU countries was mainly at the expense of the share of ‘other European countries’, from 10.3% in 2015 to 3% in 2022. A further rise of 6.5% in 2021 to 8.9% in 2022 was seen for Asian countries, (excluding China).
When it comes to imports of services from EU countries, business services and transport services dominate with an import value of €23.0bn and €19.8bn, respectively. When it comes to imports of services from non-EU countries, business services also formed the largest category with an import value of €55.3bn. The UK and the US are the largest suppliers of business services from non-EU countries. After business services and transport services, royalties for the use of intellectual property are also a large category. In total, the Netherlands imported €22.6bn in this category, mainly from the US (€12.5bn), the UK (€1.0bn) and Germany (€0.8bn). The majority of imports of ICT services also came from the US and the UK, to the value of €2.5bn and €2.3bn respectively.
| Landen | Germany | Belgium | Other EU | UK | Ukraine | Russia | Europe, other | US | Americas, other | China | Asia, other | Rest of the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022* | 10.9 | 6.5 | 33.3 | 12.9 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 19.4 | 3.9 | 0.0 | 8.9 | 0.8 |
| 2021 | 10.2 | 6.8 | 31.7 | 13.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 21.2 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 6.6 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | 9.8 | 6.5 | 29.0 | 14.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 21.2 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 7.1 | 1.2 |
| 2019 | 10.0 | 5.6 | 29.7 | 13.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 5.6 | 20.2 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 7.2 | 1.4 |
| 2018 | 9.6 | 5.2 | 30.2 | 11.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 10.1 | 17.0 | 5.6 | 1.7 | 7.0 | 1.4 |
| 2017 | 10.1 | 5.3 | 31.5 | 11.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 10.1 | 15.8 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | 9.8 | 5.0 | 27.8 | 12.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 11.0 | 19.3 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 6.2 | 1.7 |
| 2015 | 8.6 | 5.1 | 26.1 | 13.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 10.3 | 21.3 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 2.1 |
7.5The importance of imports for Dutch exports
The previous sections have already shown that the Netherlands exports goods and services that require large quantities of goods and services imports in their production processes. Dutch production processes are characterised by a high import content of exports, an important feature in a country’s integration in international value chains.
Declining earnings per euro for domestic exports
In the period between 2019 and 2022, the Dutch economy earned less value added per euro from domestic exports, in relative terms, because export earnings failed to climb as rapidly as the gross value of these exports (CBS, 2024b). Chapter 6 already showed that the value added of earnings per euro from domestic exports was 52.7 eurocents in 2022. See Figure 6.2.3. The other 47.3 cents consisted of imported goods and services used in the production process for exports. In other words, the import content of Dutch-manufactured exports was 47.3%. In 2019, earnings per euro on the exports of domestics goods were 53.8%. In 2019, 1.1 eurocents per euro more was earned from domestic exports than in 2022. Subsequently, the import content in 2019 was also lower, at 46.2%. There is a negative relationship between export earnings and imports incorporated into exports: if earnings per euro of exports increase, the import content of exports drop and vice versa; and if earnings per euro of exports decline, the import content of exports increase.
The value of services exports did not surpass the pre-pandemic levels until 2022
Table 7.5.1 shows the value of the imports of goods and services incorporated into Dutch exports in the period from 2019 to 2022. Services exports suffered a major blow during the COVID-19 crisis and it was not until 2022 that the export value surpassed the export value of 2019. Another notable detail in table 7.5.1 is the fact that the value of the goods imports incorporated into services exports declined by 3.9% in the period 2019–2022, while the value of the services imports processed for goods exports went up by 2.1%. Therefore, the share of services imports incorporated into the services exports rose, and the share of goods imports incorporated into the exports of services fell. In the period from 2019 to 2022, earnings per euro from services exports increased by 2.6 eurocents, where the Netherlands stood to gain 63.9 eurocents per euro of services exports in 2022. This means that the import content of services exports dropped by 2.6 percentage points in the 2019–2022 period.
| Total exports | Value added | Imports required | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | goods | services | |||||
| bn euros | % | bn euros | % | ||||
| Goods exports | |||||||
| 2019 | 232.0 | 124.7 | 107.3 | 83.0 | 77 | 24.3 | 23 |
| 2020 | 216.0 | 120.8 | 95.2 | 71.8 | 75 | 23.4 | 25 |
| 2021 | 255.6 | 142.1 | 113.5 | 90.6 | 80 | 22.9 | 20 |
| 2022* | 313.9 | 165.3 | 148.5 | 123.8 | 83 | 24.8 | 17 |
| Services exports | |||||||
| 2019 | 180.8 | 110.9 | 69.8 | 10.3 | 15 | 59.6 | 85 |
| 2020 | 164.2 | 100.2 | 64.0 | 7.7 | 12 | 56.3 | 88 |
| 2021 | 170.7 | 109.1 | 61.6 | 9.0 | 15 | 52.6 | 85 |
| 2022* | 203.8 | 130.3 | 73.5 | 9.9 | 13 | 63.6 | 87 |
Significant price increases due to post-COVID-19 economic recovery and geo-political tensions
The increase in the import content can mainly be explained by price increases. In 2020, the world was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a global recession characterised by a fall in demand and output restrictions. This translated into falling export prices. In 2020, export prices for domestic goods slumped by 4.5% (see table 7.5.2). The year 2021 was characterised by a partial recovery in demand and by geopolitical tensions as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. In 2021 and 2022, export prices rose by 12.9% and 23.1%, respectively, with crude oil and natural gas seeing the steepest price increases (see also tables 6.2.2 and 6.2.8 in Chapter 6 for further details). In the period from 2019 to 2022, the prices of exported goods manufactured in the Netherlands increased by 32.7%.
Prices of imports processed into exports rose more rapidly than prices of exported goods
The prices of imported goods incorporated into domestic exports, however, rose much faster, by 56.7%. This includes, for example, steep price increases for imported crude oil and natural gas. Prices of imported services incorporated into domestic exports rose significantly more slowly over the same timeframe, by 12.2%. When we take the prices of both imported goods and services incorporated into domestic exports into account, the price increase is 47.1%. In contrast, prices related to domestic value added increased by only 22.3%. Examples of value-added price increases include increased labour costs.
Prices of services imports and required imports rose less sharply
Within services exports, the prices of the required imports did not rise as fast as the prices of the imports required for goods exports. Between 2019 and 2022, export prices for services increased by 10.9%, while prices of services exports incorporated into goods imports only increased by 2.4% and those of processed services imports by 17.2%. Together, the import prices of goods and services incorporated into services imports increased by 15%. The prices of value added owing to exports did not increase as fast, at 9.1%.
| Exports | Earnings | Of which required | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total imports | goods imports | services imports | |||
| % price changes | |||||
| Goods exports | |||||
| 2020 | –4.5 | –1.0 | –8.6 | –11.3 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 12.9 | 6.9 | 21.4 | 26.7 | 4.3 |
| 2022* | 23.1 | 15.6 | 32.6 | 39.4 | 6.5 |
| 2019–2022* | 32.7 | 22.3 | 47.1 | 56.7 | 12.2 |
| Services exports | |||||
| 2020 | 1.2 | 2.3 | –0.3 | –12.7 | 1.6 |
| 2021 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 6.2 | 30.2 | 2.9 |
| 2022* | 6.6 | 5.6 | 8.6 | –9.9 | 12.1 |
| 2019–2022* | 10.9 | 9.1 | 15.0 | 2.4 | 17.2 |
Volumes of export earnings increased more sharply than volumes of imports processed into exports
Contrary to the price trends, export volumes have seen much slower growth or even a decline (see table 7.5.3). In terms of volumes, the rise in domestic exports was only 1.9% in the period between 2019 and 2022. During that same period, the import volume processed for the export of domestic goods declined by 5.9%. The decrease in volume of processed imported goods was 4.7% and the decrease in volume of processed imports of services was 9.2%. The value added by exports actually increased in the period between 2019 and 2022, by 8.3%.
When we look at volume trends in services exports, we see a modest increase of 1.5% in the 2019–2022 period. As with domestic exports, the volume of imports for processing into exports contracted. In the 2019–2022 period, the volume of imports processed into services exports dropped by 8.4%, whereby the volume of processed goods fell by 6.2% and that of processed services fell by 9%. The volume of export-induced value added, on the other hand, rose by 7.7%.
Despite price increases of imports for processing into exports, export earnings remained fairly stable. In terms of volume, export-induced value added increased, while the volume of imports processed into domestic exports actually contracted, in the case of both goods and services. The import content of the exports of domestic goods rose, nonetheless, while the earnings per euro of exports declined modestly by 1.1 eurocents in the period between 2019 and 2022. Notably, the production of domestic exports has required fewer services imports in recent years. The increase in the share of goods imports incorporated into the goods exports was thus mainly at the expense of the share of processed imports of services and only marginally at the expense of the export earnings.
| Exports | Earnings | Of which required | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total imports | goods imports | services imports | |||
| % volume changes | |||||
| Goods exports | |||||
| 2020 | –2.6 | –2.2 | –2.9 | –2.4 | –4.6 |
| 2021 | 4.8 | 10.1 | –1.8 | –0.4 | –6.2 |
| 2022* | –0.2 | 0.6 | –1.3 | –2.0 | 1.5 |
| 2019–2022* | 1.9 | 8.3 | –5.9 | –4.7 | –9.2 |
| Services exports | |||||
| 2020 | –10.3 | –11.7 | –8.0 | –14.0 | –7.0 |
| 2021 | 1.1 | 7.8 | –9.4 | –10.7 | –9.2 |
| 2022* | 11.9 | 13.1 | 9.9 | 22.1 | 7.8 |
| 2019–2022* | 1.5 | 7.7 | –8.4 | –6.2 | –9.0 |
7.6International linkages through Dutch imports and exports
Where do the inputs for Dutch exports actually come from? This section examines the origin of goods and services imports, as well as the ultimate export destination of these imports after being processed in the Netherlands. It focuses not only on the relative importance of the EU-27, both as a supplier of inputs and an export market for Dutch imports used to produce exports, but also on specific key trading partners.
Table 7.6.1 illustrates the interconnectedness of the global economy via the Netherlands in 2022. To what extent are imports of goods and services from one country or region processed in the exports to another country? For example, enterprises in the Netherlands imported a total of €6.4bn worth of goods and services from China, of which approximately 48%, or €3.1bn, were found to have been processed in exports to the EU-27. At the same time, Dutch enterprises used €24.4bn worth of imports to be able to export goods and services to North and South America. Of these imports, 44% came from the EU-27, which is the same as the sum of imports from Belgium, Germany and other EU-27, 19% from the Americas, and 15% from Asia. The total value of the imports incorporated into Dutch exports was €222bn. This corresponds to the total value of imports for processing in the exports of goods and services, as shown in table 7.5.1. For €18.6bn worth of imports, we do not know the origin, nor where the exports for which they served as input go to. The largest part of the ‘elsewhere’ group concerns imports and/or exports that cannot be linked to a country, meaning that the country is unknown. The remainder of this group mainly comprises Australia and Oceania, insofar as these figures are known. Due to small input values, these are not shown separately in the table.
European production chains continue to be essential, but importance of EU trade has declined
Table 7.6.2 shows the same figures as table 7.6.1, but with a focus on the relative importance of the EU-27 and the change compared to a year before. The first thing to note is that the Netherlands plays an important role in intraregional trade within the European single market, as previously highlighted by Baldwin & Lopez-Gonzalez (2013) and Aerts et al. (2023). A substantial proportion of imports used to produce exports came from the EU-27 and then went to another, or the same, EU-27 country. This involves €50.4bn, or 22.7% of total imports for the purpose of intermediate consumption. This share was 0.5 percentage points lower than in 2021, despite the fact that the value of these imports was almost €10bn higher. The UK’s share was about 4% in both years.
Many Dutch imports from the EU-27 came from Germany (30.6%). This was 1.0 percentage point less than in 2021. Germany was followed by Belgium with a 20.2% share of the total imports from the EU-27. Altogether, imports used from all EU countries, except for Germany and Belgium, amounted to the other 49.2%.
| Exports to | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU-27 (excl. UK) | non-EU | |||
| bn euros | % | bn euros | % | |
| Imports from | ||||
| 2021 | ||||
| EU-27 (excl. UK) | 40.7 | 35.3 | ||
| Non-EU | 40.9 | 58.2 | ||
| 2022* | ||||
| EU-27 (excl. UK) | 50.4 | 44.2 | ||
| Non-EU | 57.6 | 69.9 | ||
| Change 2022* compared to 2021 | ||||
| EU-27 (excl. UK) | 9.8 | 24.0 | 8.8 | 25.0 |
| Non-EU | 16.7 | 40.9 | 11.6 | 20.0 |
Rise in value of imports used for exports mainly due to goods
Section 7.5 showed that the value of imported goods and services incorporated into exports rose sharply in 2022. At 34%, the rise in goods was twice that in services, which saw growth of 17%. The increase in the value of processed goods imports may be explained by a higher import value from all regions and countries represented separately in table 7.6.1. In particular, goods imports from Africa (+130%), Other America (+92%), the US (+82%) and Other Asia (+71%) surged. Goods imports from Europe, meaning Other EU-27 (+39%), the UK (+43%) and Belgium (+30%), processed into exports also saw strong growth. The only country or region in Figure 7.6.1 that noted a drop in goods imports incorporated into Dutch exports was Ukraine, with a drop of 32%. This was primarily due to a decline in imports of oils and fats from that country because of the war in that country. The trends behind Dutch agricultural trade with Ukraine and Russia are discussed further in Jukema et al. (2024).
Another observation is that the import value from Africa rose much more sharply in 2022 than in 2021. This trend may be related to significant price rises for crucial raw materials, such as crude oil, coffee, iron ore and copper. These significant price increases raw materials were also the subject of a CBS report on critical raw materials in the Dutch supply chain (Bohn et al., 2023). Furthermore, the value of Russian imports required for Dutch exports was almost constant compared to 2021, whereas the value doubled in 2021 compared to 2020 (Aerts et al., 2023). The fact the value of Russian imports remained virtually unchanged in 2021 and 2022 makes it appear that there have not been many changes, but this is not the case. In fact, there was a contraction in the volume of the raw materials and mineral fuel imports, partly due to the trade sanctions imposed by the EU and other Western countries. But this is offset by a large price increase for mineral fuels. These two opposite trends offset one another to a large extent.
The relatively small increase in services imports incorporated into exports applies to virtually all countries and regions, with increases ranging between 1% (Belgium) and 36% (Africa). The only exceptions were declines in imports of services from Ukraine (down by 43%) and from Russia (down by 12%). However, neither of these countries imported many services from the Netherlands in any case.
Imports of electrical appliances from China for exports increased
Apart from Europe, the US and China are once again important partners for Dutch imports that are processed by enterprises in the Netherlands, accounting for €27.2bn and €6.4bn, respectively. Together, these accounted for 15.1% of total imports incorporated into exports in 2022, which was somewhat higher than in 2021 (14.6%). In the case of both the US, which accounted for €20.3bn in 2021, and China, with €5.2bn in 2021, there was a slight increase in value compared to the previous year. The increase in the value of imports from both countries related mainly to a large rise in goods imports. The increase of services imports from both countries was below the average for all countries.
However, if we only take China’s share of 2.9% in imports for processing, this was comparable to the previous year, despite an increase in the value of imports compared with that year. It should be noted here that the Netherlands hardly imports any mineral fuels (which increased the most in price) from China, and that the dependence on specific, crucial products could well involve major dependencies, for example with regard to critical materials, something which Bohn et al. (2023) and Chapter 2 of this publication examine in more detail. In addition, Dijkstra and Los (2024) show that Dutch dependency on imports from China is even greater when indirect imports from China via other EU countries are taken into consideration.
The main imports used to process other goods from China were electrical appliances, which made up 12% of the import value of goods and services from China that are processed into exports, telecommunications equipment (10%), organic chemical products (10%) and metal goods (8%). Imports of Chinese electrical appliances in particular rose considerably in 2022 compared to the previous year: by 33% (or nearly €200 million). Conversely, imports of telecommunications equipment from China processed into exports contracted, both in terms of value and in share. Export goods made using inputs from China include a wide range of products, such as specialised machinery, electrical appliances, plastics and chemical products. Imports from China that were incorporated into Dutch exports were mostly destined for Germany (14%), the US (9%), Belgium (8%) and France (6%).
7.7Analysing export-related imports in more detail
Sections 7.5 and 7.6 have mainly analysed macroeconomic developments and the geographical breakdown of imports that are processed into Dutch exports. In addition to this perspective it is also relevant to zoom in on the product level, as in the previous paragraph on China. Did macroeconomic developments in 2022 mainly relate to changes in the import values of certain goods or services, for example, from non-EU-27 countries?noot2
The Netherlands mainly imports raw materials and mineral fuels for exports
Figure 7.7.1noot3 shows the composition of goods imports used in the production of Dutch exports in 2022, by country of origin. This figure does not include re-exports, or goods that cannot be linked to a particular country. This latter concerns the ‘elsewhere-elsewhere’ flow as presented in Figure 7.6.1. We distinguish between five goods categories, based on the SITC 1 classification. A total of €56.8bn worth of raw materials and mineral fuels was required to produce exports in 2022. Enterprises in the Netherlands imported €20.3bn worth of manufactured products, €18.7bn worth of chemical products and €17.9bn worth of machinery and transportation equipment, and €17.4bn worth of food and beverages.
| categorie | Belgium | Germany | Other EU | Ukraine | Russia | UK | Europe, other | Africa | US | Americas, other | China | Asia, other | Rest of the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw materials and mineral fuels |
3574 | 1959 | 4956 | 61 | 5927 | 5552 | 5776 | 7415 | 8516 | 4029 | 152 | 7982 | 852 |
| Industrial products | 2752 | 5634 | 5546 | 21 | 149 | 876 | 956 | 148 | 613 | 252 | 1670 | 1588 | 50 |
| Chemical products | 4174 | 4147 | 3448 | 7 | 83 | 939 | 274 | 136 | 1298 | 942 | 1103 | 2107 | 44 |
| Machinery and transport equipment |
1749 | 5305 | 3243 | 3 | 1 | 668 | 299 | 18 | 1357 | 98 | 2333 | 2775 | 12 |
| Food and beverages | 2602 | 4137 | 4308 | 432 | 31 | 321 | 244 | 1036 | 158 | 1653 | 285 | 1729 | 425 |
| Total | 14850 | 21182 | 21501 | 524 | 6190 | 8356 | 7549 | 8753 | 11943 | 6975 | 5543 | 16182 | 1383 |
Almost half of goods imports destined for exports originate from the EU-27
In 2022, the EU-27 was once again the most important import partner of the Netherlands by far. In Figure 7.7.1, the 27 countries making up the EU are represented by Germany, Belgium and ‘Other EU-27’. The EU-27 are responsible for 44% of the goods imports required for Dutch exports. In the previous year, the figure was 49%, a trend associated with strong growth in the import value of mineral fuels in 2022. These mainly originate from outside the EU (also see Chapter 3). In 2022, the import value of raw materials and mineral fuels almost doubled compared to the previous year. This doubling applies to both the imports of these products from the EU as well as of those from non-EU countries. The growth rate of import value in the other categories was lower, but still accounted for an average increase of 20%.
The importance of import growth in mineral fuels from non-EU countries in increasing non-EU dependency on goods is also underlined by the EU’s share by goods category: the EU’s share was higher than 50% in every goods category except raw materials and mineral fuels. With regard to mineral fuels, 82% came from countries outside the EU. While this dependency on non-EU countries for mineral fuels was down by 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier, as this category increased sharply, the EU’s share of total goods imports still fell further. Without mineral fuels, the EU had a 63% share in the total imports incorporated into exports in 2022. This share remained the same as in 2021.
In general, mineral fuels in the Netherlands are often incorporated into exports in the same category (mineral fuels), but also into exports of organic chemical products, plastics in primary forms, manufacturing services and transport services. An example of this is crude oil imported into the Netherlands via its sea ports, which is then processed into final products in oil refineries, such as crude oil, paraffin, diesel and LPG, or into semi-finished products. Semi-finished products, may, for example, serve as a raw material for plastics used to produce toys or packaging materials for distribution to other countries.
The 5.0 percentage point drop in the share of total goods imports imported from the EU-27 in 2022 cannot be fully attributed to the mineral fuels discussed previously. The EU’s share of imports of chemical products also fell by 6 percentage points. At the same time, however, the EU’s share of imports of machinery and transportation equipment (up by 5 percentage points) and of food and beverages (up by 4 percentage points) actually rose compared to 2021. The highest degree of import dependency on EU countries concerned industrial products (69%), food and beverages (64%) and chemical products (63%).
Imports of ICT services incorporated into exports rose sharply in 2022
As shown in section 7.5, the Netherlands also imports a large amount of services in order to enable exports. As much as 40% of total imports for processing involved services (€88.4bn) in 2022. This was 3.0 percentage points less than the share of imported services in the previous year, but it still covered a large share despite the enormous price increases that have affected imported goods in particular over the last few years. These imported services are used not only to facilitate the exports of services, such as software or consulting services, but also to facilitate the production of various export goods such as passenger cars, chemical products and machinery. This shift towards services is related to the outsourcing of service activities by industrial enterprises (Bohn et al., 2022).
Figure 7.7.2 shows the top 6 imported services that were required for Dutch exports in 2022. The service category of ‘Other business services’ came first, with an import value of €25.0bn. Examples include management consultancy services and R&D services. This category was followed by imports of royalties, with a value of €15.5bn. These are remunerations for intellectual property. Imports in the transport services category amounted to €13.8bn and imports of ICT services amounted to €7.3bn. These four categories collectively made up 85% of total services imports used to produce Dutch exports in 2022.
Rising by 24% and 22% respectively, imports of royalties and imports of ICT services saw the largest increases in the past year, while the increase in other business services was considerably lower, at 9%. Services imports from the EU-27 countries were up by 18%. That was twice the increase from non-EU countries.
In contrast to the relatively high EU shares in imports of goods as shown by Figure 7.7.2, the EU shares of multiple service categories was below 50%. The share of services imports processed into exports originating from the EU had increased slightly in 2022 and amounted to 51%, and increase of 2.0 percentage points. This, too, was contrary to the trend in goods imports. After all, that share fell for goods imports.
| categorie | Belgium | Germany | Other EU | Ukraine | Russia | UK | Europe, other | Africa | US | Americas, other | China | Asia, other | Rest of the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other business services |
1265 | 2784 | 8147 | 8 | 79 | 4096 | 675 | 185 | 3378 | 1092 | 364 | 2661 | 306 |
| Royalties | 153 | 575 | 4783 | 1 | 3 | 712 | 132 | 8 | 8611 | 408 | 21 | 125 | 11 |
| Transport services | 1486 | 1855 | 6308 | 16 | 34 | 934 | 685 | 172 | 777 | 456 | 329 | 648 | 85 |
| Other services | 686 | 1024 | 2349 | 2 | 66 | 992 | 223 | 54 | 1134 | 260 | 119 | 430 | 25 |
| ICT services | 330 | 738 | 2136 | 7 | 20 | 1242 | 376 | 21 | 1229 | 364 | 14 | 832 | 35 |
| Industrial services | 317 | 806 | 1283 | 0 | 3 | 960 | 141 | 6 | 153 | 12 | 11 | 34 | 25 |
| Total | 4236 | 7781 | 25005 | 34 | 205 | 8937 | 2231 | 445 | 15281 | 2591 | 859 | 4729 | 487 |
Almost half of services imports processed into exports are destined for the EU-27
Looking at the export markets, it turns out that 47% of the services required for Dutch exports in 2022 were destined for one of the other EU-27 countries. The main export markets for the processed services imports were Germany (14%), the US (9%), the UK (8%), Belgium (7%) and France (6%). The EU share and those of the major export markets remained virtually unchanged compared to the previous year. Among the most important imported services categories, i.e. other business services, royalties, transport services and ICT services, the top 5 export markets were all similar, with Germany invariably the largest export market in each service category, followed by the US in second place and the UK ranking third.
7.8References
References
Aerts, N., Bohn, T., Notten, T., Creemers, S., Notten, T., & Weusten, M. (2023). Use of imports in the Dutch economy. In S. Creemers & D. Herbers (Eds.), Dutch Trade in Facts and Figures 2023: Exports, imports and investment. Statistics Netherlands.
Baldwin, R., & Lopez-Gonzalez, J. (2015). Supply-chain Trade: A Portrait of Global Patterns and Several Testable Hypotheses. The World Economy, 38(11), 1682–1721.
Bohn, T., Notten, T., Prenen, L., & Wong, K. F. (2022). Services ‘in boxes’: the role of indirect service exports. In D. Herbers & J. Internationalisation Monitor 2022, second quarter: Trade in services: developments and barriers. Statistics Netherlands.
Bohn, T., Notten, T., Ramaekers, P., & Wong, K. F. (2023). Kritieke materialen in de Nederlandse toeleveringsketen [Critical materials in the Dutch supply chain]. Statistics Netherlands.
CBS (2016, 13 October). Exports of services account for 10% of GDP. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 30 May 2024.
CBS (2022, 9 September). Manufacturing output 4% up in July. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 28 May 2024.
CBS (2023). GDP, output and expenditures; changes, National Accounts. [Dataset]. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 23 May 2024.
CBS (2024a, 5 July). Road vehicles are the main import for domestic usage. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 5 July 2024.
CBS (2024b, 19 March). Export earnings grow less rapidly than total export value. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 23 May 2024.
Dijkstra, H., & Los, B. (2024). Lagere afhankelijkheid van Chinese import economisch niet eenvoudig [Less dependence on Chinese imports not a simple matter economically]. Economisch Statistische Berichten (an economics journal), yet to be published.
Franssen, L., Lemmers, O., Prenen, L., & Wong, K. F. (2020). Het Verenigd Koninkrijk afhankelijker van Europese Unie dan eerder gedacht [UK more dependent on EU than previously thought]. Economisch Statistische Berichten (an economics journal), 105(4786), 268–271.
Jukema, G., Ramaekers, P., & Berkhout, P. (2024). De Nederlandse agrarische sector internationaal 2024. [The Dutch agricultural sector in an international context – 2024 edition]. Wageningen Economic Research & CBS.
Lemmers, O., Notten, T., Wong, K.F., Dahlmans, D., & Prenen, L. (2023). De toeleveringsketens van vijf bedrijfstakken: welke landen van zeggenschap, welke producten [The supply chains of five industries: which countries of control, which products]. Statistics Netherlands.
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Notten, T. (2022, 14 November). Semiconductor imports in Dutch value chains [Powerpoint slides]. CBS Wereldcafé. Statistics Netherlands. Accessed on 30 May 2024.
Noten
For example, China may act as a supplier of a German export product to the Netherlands. This example is referred to as an indirect import. The CBS source data used do not allow an examination of such indirect dependencies between the Netherlands and third countries – in this example, China – through other links in the chain. An in-depth analysis of indirect dependencies and global value chain linkages requires multiregional input-output tables. For recent analyses of indirect dependencies with regard to direct and indirect imports of critical materials, refer to Bohn et al. (2023). See Lemmers et al. (2023) for a supply chain analysis of five strategic industries, and Dijkstra and Los (2024) for indirect dependencies on China.
A more detailed breakdown of the goods categories at SITC-2 level discussed in this section is also available in the set of tables appended to this publication.
The figures in this chapter were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods statistics and the International Trade in Services statistics, with the data of the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from the other totals shown on StatLine or in the other chapters of this publication, which are both based on the trade statistics.