Declining trade with the Philippines

Following a number of years of sturdy growth, Dutch imports from the Philippines fell by nearly a quarter in 2001 from their 2000 level. Exports to the Philippines also fell: by fourteen percent. Total Dutch imports rose by one percent in the same period, exports rose by four percent.

Trade with the Philippines

Imports: computers and electrical circuits

The Netherlands imported 1.9 billion euro worth of goods from the Philippines in 2001, 24 percent less than in the previous year. This put an end to a period of sturdy growth during which imports tripled between 1996 and 2000. The hefty increase in imports of computers and electronic circuits determined this picture; these products account for 84 percent of imports. It should be mentioned in this respect that the Netherlands re-exports these goods.

Main imports

Exports: hardly up in recent years

The Netherlands exported 0.3 billion euro worth of goods to the Philippines in 2001. The value of exports to the Philippines rose only slightly in the last five years: by seventy million euro. Electron tubes and food are the main exported products with 36 and 18 percent respectively.

Asia

After Europe, Asia is the most important trading region for the Netherlands: 46.3 billion euro worth of goods were imported from Asia in 2001, one fifth of total Dutch imports.

Exports to this region amounted to a value of 15.5 billion euro. Six percent of total Dutch exports end up in this part of the world. For the Philippines these percentages are 0.9 (imports) and 0.1 percent (exports).

Wiel Packbier

This article is the eighth in a series on so-called emerging markets. Previous articles in the series covered: Hungary, Russia, China, Poland,  South Korea, Israel and Turkey.