The Netherlands is a global player in the fruit and vegetable sector. "The import value of fruits and vegetables in 2014 amounted to around 4.6 billion Euro, with products coming from 107 countries. 80% of the imported products were then re-exported. The export value amounted to 7.1 billion Euro that year. The top three exported products from the Netherlands are tomatoes, bell peppers and onions."
This is what Wilco Van Den Berg from the GroentenFruit Huis said during the European Vegetable Strategies event in May. He said that Russia was an important buyer of Dutch products, but that after the boycott new opportunities for sales elsewhere were found. "The top three export countries for the Netherlands in 2013 were Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia."
Russia
Russia is in the top five of the world's biggest importers. 30% of that import came from the European Union in the past. If you look at the period from August to December 2014, from the boycott, import from the EU fell by 20%. That is 670 million kilos of food. It was mainly apples (-45%), tomatoes (-30%) and bell peppers (-23%). What is interesting is that the import from other, not boycotted, countries rose only 3% during those months in comparison to the year prior. For Russia, it was not easy to find imports that came from the boycotted countries elsewhere," concluded Wilco.
Who is benefiting from the boycott?
The country benefiting the most from the boycott is Turkey, with a 25% increase in imports from that country from August to December. From Turkey, Russia mainly imported citrus, grapes and cucumbers. Between August and December import from China rose by 10%, and that was mainly in pears. Belarus also exported more to Russia during this period (+36%); mainly exporting apples, tomatoes, carrots and cabbage."
After the boycott
"But we must look ahead," he continues. "There are opportunities for growth without Russia. That is why we are searching for markets worldwide for Dutch products. China and Brazil have recently opened up for Dutch pears. In addition, we are also working on China opening up to bell peppers. Recently, Dutch onions have found their way to Indonesia and Panama. Yet, it is not easy to approach new markets, it often takes a long time until it is official." Wilco also showed how export from the Netherlands to other countries was going from 2011 to 2013. It was interesting that export to the U.S. and Canada fell sharply during those years. Export to Asian countries, such as China and Japan, grew.
