Netherlands Balance of Trade

Last Release

Aug 31, 2024

Actual

11,081

Units In

EUR Million

10,739

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Nov 14, 2024

Time to Release

1 Months 1 Days 8 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
13,594 Mar 2024	-907.6 May 1993	1,664.72 EUR Million	1960-2024	Statistics Netherlands

The Netherlands is an export-oriented economy and derives more than two-thirds of its GDP from the merchandise trade. Main exports are: machinery and transport equipment (28 percent of total exports), mineral fuels (23 percent), food (11 percent), clothing and footwear (10 percent) and pharmaceuticals (5 percent). Netherlands main imports are: fuel (29 percent of total imports), machinery (26 percent) and food and live animals (8.6 percent). Main trading partners are Germany (24 percent of total exports and 17 percent of imports) and Belgium (12 percent of exports and 10 percent imports). Others include: China, France, United Kingdom and United States.

Latest Updates

The trade surplus in the Netherlands narrowed to EUR 11.1 billion in August 2024, down from EUR 12.2 billion in the same month of the previous year. This marks the smallest trade surplus since October 2023, as exports declined 4.4% year-on-year to EUR 200 billion, weighed by lower sales from EU (-3.3%) and non-EU countries (-5.9%). Among commodities, exports were particularly down for mineral fuels and lubricants (-19.5%), and machines and transport equipment (-10.7%). Meanwhile, imports fell at a softer 3.4% to EUR 54.9 billion, with purchases declining by 4% in the EU and 2.9% in the non-EU countries. Imports mainly dropped mineral fuels and lubricants (-17.7%), and animals and vegetables (-4.2%). Considering January to August, the trade surplus widened to EUR 99.8 billion from EUR 81.8 billion in the corresponding period last year.