Value of goods exported to Africa down by a quarter
In 2023, the export value of mineral fuels (the category which includes petroleum products) to Africa was down by 51 percent relative to the previous year. The only continent that saw a larger decline in percentage terms was Oceania, but the volume of trade with Oceania is very limited in scale. In 2023, the Netherlands exported mineral fuels with a value of 5.3 billion euros to Africa, compared with 0.03 billion euros to Oceania. The bulk of mineral fuel exports goes to European countries: 114 billion euros (84 percent) in 2023.
| Continent | Export value of mineral fuels (% change (year on year)) |
|---|---|
| Oceania | -60 |
| Africa | -51 |
| N and S America | -26 |
| Asia | -24 |
| Other 1) | -11 |
| 1)Includes on-board supplies, high seas, unspecified third countries | |
Value of exports to Nigeria down by 3.8 billion euros
The value of goods exported to Africa fell by 5.4 billion euros to 17.1 billion euros in 2023. Of all export destinations in Africa, Nigeria saw the biggest decline. The value of goods exported to Nigeria fell by 3.8 billion euros in 2023. This means that South Africa is now the largest buyer of goods from the Netherlands in the continent of Africa. Angola and Senegal saw the largest declines in export value, after Nigeria.
The country in Africa that saw the largest increase in exports from the Netherlands by value was Algeria (up by 0.2 billion euros). Exports of petroleum products to Algeria are relatively limited, so the value of exports to Algeria was not affected by falling oil prices. The product groups with the largest rise in exports to Algeria were milk and cream (up by 41 million euros), truck units for use with semi-trailers (up by 24 million euros) and pharmaceutical products (up by 17 million euros).
| Land | 2023 (billion euros) | 2022 (billion euros) |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Nigeria | 2.4 | 6.2 |
| Egypt | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| Morocco | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Ghana | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Togo | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Algeria | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Senegal | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Kenya | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Angola | 0.4 | 1.3 |
Exports to Nigeria, Angola and Senegal decline the most in value
The total value of goods exported to Nigeria was down by 2.4 billion euros in 2023. That was 61 percent (3.8 billion euros) lower than in the previous year, mainly due to a fall in the export value of petroleum and petroleum products (down by 3.7 billion euros). However, petroleum products remain the most important commodity exported to Nigeria, representing a 70 percent share of all exports. The decline in the value of goods exported to Angola (down by 0.8 billion euros) and Senegal (down by 0.6 billion euros) was also due to the fall in exports of petroleum (products). The first reason for this decline was the fall in the price of oil over the past year, but stricter fuel requirements designed to reduce air pollution were a second factor. In Nigeria, the discontinuation of a subsidy scheme for petrol has led to a further reduction in the export value of petroleum products.
| Land | Jaar | Petroleum and petroleum products (billon euros) | Other (billon euros) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 | 5.3 | 0.8 |
| Nigeria | 2023 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| Angola | 2022 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| Angola | 2023 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Senegal | 2022 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Senegal | 2023 | 0.2 | 0.3 |