87 percent of imports from Russia are mineral fuels

The total value of Dutch goods imports from Russia last year was 18.4 billion euros. Mineral fuels make up a substantial share, which means the import value is greatly influenced by global oil and gas prices. Consequently, the rise in the value of imports from Russia between 2020 and 2021 (by 95 percent) was mostly related to the simultaneous increase (by over 60 percent on average) in the price of oil. Another reason for the higher value was the abating coronavirus crisis. At 18.4 billion euros, the import value in 2021 did not hit a record level yet. The value was even higher in 2012 and 2013, but the oil price then was also around 30 percent higher than in 2021.

Since 2004, mineral fuels have consistently made up over 80 percent of the total value of imports from Russia. Aside from mineral fuels, the Netherlands obtains relatively large quantities of metals such as copper and nickel from Russia.

China largest importer; the Netherlands sixth largest

The largest importer of goods from Russia is China. Provisional figures over 2021 show that Chinese imports amount to approximately 68 billion euros. Next in line are the United States (26 billion), Turkey (25 billion), Germany (24 billion) and the United Kingdom (22 billion). At 18.4 billion euros, the Netherlands was the sixth largest importer of goods from Russia last year.

Most dependent on imports from Russia are Kazakhstan and Belarus. Around 45 percent of Kazakhstan’s imports originate from Russia; this is 37 percent for Belarus. At a considerable distance is Turkey with 11 percent import dependence on Russia. For the Netherlands, import dependence on Russia is 3.5 percent.

Russia is of much greater importance to all major importers where mineral fuels are concerned. For example, 91 percent of mineral fuel imports by Belarus originate from Russia. This is 84 percent for Kazakhstan and 52 percent for Poland. The shares are lower for Germany (14 percent) and the Netherlands (19 percent).

62 percent of Dutch exports to Russia are domestically produced

Dutch exports to Russia are much lower than imports from that country. In 2021, the total value of these exports stood at 6.6 billion euros, of which 4.1 billion euros were domestic exports; 2.5 billion euros represented re-exports of goods manufactured abroad. Total Dutch exports to Russia have risen sharply since 2015. However, the export value was higher in 2012 and 2013. Russia is the 15th largest export market for the Netherlands in terms of domestic exports, 17th largest in terms of total goods exports.

The strong decline in exports to Russia between 2014 and 2015 was related to import bans imposed by Russia on specific export products from the Netherlands. The bans were in response to sanctions imposed by the EU following the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Major Dutch-produced goods which are exported to Russia include medicines, road vehicles such as tractors, and flowers. Re-exports destined for Russia include electronic circuits, telephones and medicines.
In 2020, Dutch export earnings in trade with Russia amounted to approximately 2.0 billion euros. This is 1.3 percent of total Dutch earnings from goods exports that year. In 2015, Russia was still good for 1.0 percent of total export earnings. Around 80 percent of total export earnings in 2020 was related to domestic exports and 20 percent were re-exports. The number of businesses in the Netherlands engaging in exports to Russia has been stable since 2015 at around 3 thousand.

China also largest exporter to Russia, the Netherlands 8th largest

China is Russia’s largest trading partner worldwide, not only in imports but also in exports. Provisional figures over 2021 show that Chinese exports to Russia amount to 58 billion euros. Following China are Germany (27 billion), South Korea (9 billion) and Belarus (8 billion). The Netherlands is the eighth largest exporter to Russia with a total value of 6.6 billion euros.
Belarus has the highest export dependence on Russia among the major trading partners; a quarter of its exports are destined for Russia. Russia holds a much smaller share in the exports of China (2.0 percent), Germany (2.0 percent) and the Netherlands (1.1 percent). The Russian share in goods exports is larger for Kazakhstan (11.7 percent), Poland (2.8 percent) and Turkey (3.1 percent).