Robust growth trade with emerging markets

For many years, the growth rate of the value of goods exported to fast-growing economies has been higher than the growth rate of exports to Europe, but the share of European countries in total Dutch exports remains much larger than the share of exports to emerging markets.

Substantial growth emerging markets

The amount of goods and services produced by South Korea last year was nearly twice as large as in 1996. The growth in other emerging economies, like Mexico and Turkey was also much higher than in the Netherlands and other developed countries.  The IMF expects this situation to continue in the years to come.

Economic growth

Growth Dutch exports due to higher prosperity level emerging economies

As a result of the higher prosperity level in emerging economies, these countries buy more consumer goods manufactured in the Netherlands.  They also import more Dutch semi-manufactured goods for use in their own production processes. The value of Dutch exports to Mexico, for example, grew from 0.2 billion euros in 1996 to 2.7 billion euros in 2013, i.e. a more than 13-fold increase, whereas exports to Germany increased by a factor of 2.4 during the same period.  A considerable part of Dutch exports to Mexico consisted of mineral fuels.

Value of Dutch exports, by country

Share emerging markets still limited

Despite the robust growth in recent years, the share of emerging markets is still relatively small, but gradually growing.  The share of exports to Mexico in total Dutch goods exports grew from 0.1 percent in 1996 to 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2014. Germany’s share, on the other hand, decreased slowly, from 28.5 to 24.4 percent during that same period.

Share in Dutch exports of goods

Marjolijn Jaarsma and Oscar Lemmers