Economics and Agricultural Markets in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a small European country located along the north Atlantic coast, geographically dominated by lowlands, bays, and island chains that lead onto the North Sea. With a total territory of almost 42.000 square kilometers, the Netherlands equates to almost twice the state of New Jersey. Bordering with Belgium and Germany, the Netherlands has a total population of over 17 million citizens, more than 90% of which live in urban settings. Currently, the Netherland’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is approximately US$800 billion, representing the sixth largest economy in the European Union. Furthermore, the country has experienced positive economic growth above 1.0% in recent years. Similarly, the Netherlands serves as key port of transit for Europe, hosting the busiest port on the continent, Rotterdam. The Dutch national economy is divided into 2% agriculture, 19% manufacturing, and 79% services. However, the agriculture industry utilizes about 55% of the national territory, while another 11% is forested. Likewise, the Dutch agricultural industry employs 2% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 17% and services employ another 81%.

Natural resources in the Netherlands include natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand, gravel, and arable land. Within the manufacturing industry, the Netherlands is highly focused on agroindustries, metallurgy, engineering products, electrical machinery, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, and fishing. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables, and livestock. Furthermore, as a founding member of the EU, the Netherlands benefits from subsidies and industry protections under the Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Similarly, the country has used the Euro as its official currency since its creation in 1999. This article explores the status of trade and agricultural markets in the Netherlands.

Economics and Agricultural Markets in the Netherlands

In terms of trade, the Netherlands’ main partners are fellow EU members, particularly Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, as well as China and the United States. Throughout recent years, amongst the Dutch population, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin has been of 74 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers supply more than 25% of the average Dutch food energy intake.

Simultaneously, land use in the Netherlands has evolved throughout the last half century. During the early 1960s, pastures and meadows in the Netherlands covered almost 1.3 million hectares, while arable land totaled almost 1 million hectares. Today, pastures and meadows in the Netherlands account for less than 760.000 hectares, while arable land represents little over 1 million hectares. At the same time, throughout these several decades, permanent crops have utilized approximately 35.000 hectares of land in the Netherlands.

Similarly, the domestic cereals market in the Netherlands has evolved during the last half century. During the early 1960s, the Netherlands devoted well over 500.000 hectares of land to the production of cereals and produced approximately 2 million metric tons annually. Meanwhile, in 2014, the Netherlands devoted little over 187.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded some 1.7 million metric tons.

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