Biggest decrease in incoming and outgoing freight since 2009

The number of goods entering the Netherlands in the corona year 2020 has decreased the most since the start of the economic crisis in 2009. On an annual basis, the decrease in 2020 is almost 6%, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Shipments also saw their biggest decrease in more than a decade, by more than 5%.

Income from agricultural and fishery products was much higher than in 2019, an increase of 9%. More wood and paper were also included. The supply of pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals decreased by more than 10%.

Products in this category do add value, increasing the value of Dutch exports by over 1% in 2020. Rising prices for machinery and electronics also contributed to this, according to the CBS.

Of over 600 billion kilograms of imported goods, 15% were used for re-export and 43% for transit. Transit means that the goods are still in the hands of foreigners and are only stored here or exchanged with another means of transport. In the case of re-export, Dutch products are usually minimally modified before they leave our country again.

In 2020, most cargo was imported from Germany and Russia: both countries accounted for 13% of the landing weight. In 2019 Russia was still in the lead, a year later Germany has taken the first position with a small lead.