Exports of pigs were worth the most in 2024, a total of 940 million euros. The Netherlands also exported horses with the value of 457 million euros. The Netherlands has an international reputation as a major breeder of horses for sport which are exported for high prices, particularly to the United States. In 2024, the Netherlands exported 19 thousand horses, with an average value of 24 thousand euros per horse.

When we look at the numbers of individual animals exported, the picture looks quite different than export value: in 2024, the vast majority of live animals exported were poultry (366 million animals), 9.5 million pigs and 0.5 million cattle. The Netherlands also exports many other species - from rabbits to goats, reptiles to fish, and insects to birds.

Germany buys the most animals from the Netherlands

Almost half of the total export value of live animals consisted of exports to Germany and Belgium. Germany is the largest market for live animals from the Netherlands: in 2024, Germany received 772 million euros worth of live animals, of which pigs made up 510 million euros and poultry 199 million euros. Belgium was the second-largest buyer at 331 million euros. In the case of Belgium, live cattle made up 174 million euros of the total export value.

The vast majority of exports to the United States in 2024 were horses (271 million euros out of a total export value of 301 million euros), especially valuable sport horses. In the case of Spain and Italy, pigs were the Netherlands’s main export in this category.

Chickens are the Netherlands’ main import in this category

The Netherlands imported live animals worth 1.5 billion euros in 2024, down by 6 percent from 2023. This drop was mainly because the import value of poultry declined. Nonetheless, poultry still made up the majority of that import value: 364 million chickens and other poultry were imported, with a value of 900 million euros. That was 59 percent of the total import value of live animals. The remainder was mainly made up of cattle imports (449 million euros).

Imports of live animals mainly come from neighbouring countries – even more so than in the case of exports. In 2024, 54 percent of the total import value came from Germany and 27 percent from Belgium. Imports from both these countries mainly concerned poultry and cattle.