Strongly growing agricultural exports to Germany

© Hollandse Hoogte
Between 2010 and 2015, exports of agricultural products to Germany rose by nearly one-quarter, equivalent to a value of almost 3 billion euros. On the other hand, the Dutch share in Germany’s total imports of agricultural products diminished slightly due to sharper increases in imports from other countries. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this and more in the latest edition of the Internationalisation Monitor.
Out of all Dutch agricultural goods imported by Germany, more than one-third (5.5 billion euros) were destined for North Rhine-Westphalia. This was followed by Lower Saxony (2.1 billion), Baden-Württemberg (1.7 billion), Bavaria (1.3 billion) and Hamburg (0.7 billion).

map gemany imports

Share increased in smaller constituent states

Although agricultural imports from the Netherlands rose in most constituent states, the Dutch share in imports only grew in the economically smaller constituent states: Saarland (from 12.7 to 19.2 percent, an increase of 6.5 percentage points), Saxony-Anhalt (5.1 percentage points), Brandenburg (4.5 percentage points), Thuringia (3.1 percentage points), Hamburg (1.6 percentage points) and Rhineland-Palatinate (0.2 percentage point). In the economically larger federal states of Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse, Dutch agricultural products are losing or at least not gaining market share.


Flowers and plants major export products

The number one import products from the Netherlands to Germany are flowers and plants (2 bn euros). In second place are vegetables (1.7 bn euros), followed by cheese (0.9 bn euros), cattle feed (0.9 bn euros) and live animals (0.8 bn euros).
Flowers and plants are not only the largest product group, but the strongest growth was from this group as well: +265 million euros. This is closely followed by vegetables (+ 258 million) and fruit (+ 214 million). Imports of processed foods such as baby milkpowder and ketchup (+ 137 million) and cheese (+ 135 million) also grew significantly.


Germans import mostly Dutch eggs and flowers

The Dutch share in German imports is largest in the product groups eggs (71 percent), flowers and plants (60 percent), live animals (58 percent), margarine (53 percent) and prepared oils and fats (48 percent).