Netherlands emerges as India’s 3rd largest export destination

The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest export destination after the US and UAE during 2023-24, even as the country's merchandise shipments dipped by over 3 per cent, according to the commerce ministry data.

The main commodities which registered healthy exports growth in the Netherlands include petroleum products ($14.29 billion), electrical goods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals in the last fiscal. India's trade surplus with the Netherlands has increased to $17.4 billion in the last fiscal from $13 billion in 2022-23.

The Netherlands has taken over major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany. India's exports to the Netherlands rose by about 3.5 per cent to $22.36 billion in 2023-24 as against $21.61 billion in 2022-23, the data showed. In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at $12.55 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively. The exports have been registering healthy growth continuously since 2000-01, when India's exports to that nation were $880 million. Further, in 2021-22, the Netherlands was the fifth largest destination for Indian exports as against the ninth largest in 2020-21.

According to trade experts, the Netherlands has emerged as a hub for Europe with efficient ports and connectivity with the EU through roads, railways and waterways. Mumbai-based exporter and Chairman of Technocraft Industries Sharad Kumar Saraf said the trend of increasing exports would continue in the future also. Saraf said that the Netherlands is a gateway to Europe as its ports are very efficient. India and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations in 1947. Since then, the two countries have developed strong political, economic and commercial relations. In 2023-24, the bilateral trade between the two countries marginally dipped to $27.34 billion as against $27.58 billion in 2022-23.

The Netherlands is among the top trading partners of India in Europe, after Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Belgium. It is also a major investor in India. During the last fiscal, India received about $5 billion in foreign direct investment from the Netherlands. It was $2.6 billion in 2022-23. There are over 200 Dutch companies present in India, including Philips, Akzo Nobel, DSM, KLM and Rabobank. Similarly, there are more than 200 Indian companies operating in the Netherlands, including all the major IT firms such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra as well as Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tata Steel.