Netherlands emerging to be the largest exporter hub in India in April-December 2022
The Netherlands has become India’s third largest export destination followed by the U.S. and UAE during the April-December fiscal. The Netherlands has emerged as the largest exporter based on the rise in the shipments of goods such as petroleum products, electronic goods, aluminum goods, and other chemical products. India’s trade surplus with the Netherlands has plunged from 1.5 billion USD in 2017 to 12.3 billion USD in 2022.
The Netherlands has asserted dominance in major regions like the U.K., Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Germany. The data has been sourced from the commerce industry.
Furthermore, India’s exports to the Netherlands have increased by 69 percent accounting for 13.67 USD from April-December 2022. The data is compared to 8.10 billion USD in the previous year in the same period.
Data showed that in 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to European countries increased by 12.55 billion USD and 6.5 billion USD respectively. The exports have accumulated at a healthy rate compared to India’s exports to the nation which accounted for 880 million USD.
In addition, the Netherlands was the fifth largest region for India’s exports in 2021-22 compared to the ninth position in 2020-21.
The Director General of the Federation of Indian Exports Organizations has stated that the Netherlands has become a hub for Europe because of its efficient port and connectivity with the European Union via roads, railways, and waterways.
He added that the petroleum exports increased significantly from April-November in the fiscal year. The oil companies are using the Netherlands as and distribution hub. Aluminum, electrical goods, and electronics contributed to the large exports from the country that were traded in Germany and France.
In 2022, India’s exports to the country have contributed to 18.1 billion USD compared to 5.5 billion USD in 2017.
According to Global Trade Research Initiative, ATF (Aviation turbine fuel) and diesel were the integral petroleum products that were exported from India to that country.
Electronic items including telephone products and smartphones worth 1 billion USD were exported.
Sharad Kumar Saraf, a Mumbai-based trader and chairman of Technocraft Industries has stated that the Netherlands is a gateway to Europe because its ports are considered efficient. Thus, they are considered cheaper for communications and shipping operations than other European ports.
India and the Netherlands came into a diplomatic relationship in 1947. Since that time, the two nations have built a strong economic, political and commercial relationship.
The bilateral relationship between India and the Netherlands:
The nation is a leading trading partner of India in Europe followed by Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and Belgium. In addition, it is the largest investor in India. During April-December this fiscal, India received 1.76 billion USD in foreign direct investment from the Netherlands.
There are around 200 Dutch companies in India comprising Philips, Akzo Nobel, DSM, and KLM. Moreover, 200 Indian companies are working in the Netherlands. Some of the giant tech companies of India such as Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Sun Pharmaceuticals are operating in the Netherlands.
At the same time, Brazil is drawing closer to India’s list of export destinations in the export fiscal 2022. The exports to Tanzania have increased by three times accounting for 2.4 billion USD.
Several countries have minimized their dependence on Rissia-based oil but India has experienced a sharp increase in crude oil imported from Russia. Furthermore, it is processing and exports oils to different nations in Europe.
Furthermore, India and Netherlands’ trade has been strengthened by the Fast-track mechanism policy. The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands has formalized the FTM Mechanism between the two countries.
The policy will increase mutual investment activities. Both countries are top economies and have a strong bilateral economic relationship, with many Dutch companies being functional in India for 100 years.
During the fiscal year 2021-22, India exported many products to the nation from mineral fuels, and mineral-based products to electrical types of equipment, iron and, pharmaceutical products.
Based on the data in 2022, the Netherlands is the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment in India which paved the way for the country to be the third largest destination for overseas direct investment.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
