Browse Data and Analysis

The Netherlands, as a Member State of the European Union (EU), conforms to all EU regulations and directives. However, rules for the certification of imports are complicated and, in practice, are not always harmonized across EU Member States. This report lists the recent developments related to Dutch import requirements for the certification of agricultural and food imports.

The implementation of a much-debated deposit scheme for metal cans in the Netherlands has been delayed until April 1, 2023, due to information technology challenges surrounding the deposit system and an insufficient number of machines to press returned cans.

A Value Added Tax (VAT) of zero percent for vegetables and fruit was part of the 2021 Dutch government's coalition agreement. Realizing this VAT reduction, however, has been met with several challenges pertaining to efficiency, efficacy, and feasibility.

The exporter guide provides an economic and market overview, as well as demographic trends and practical tips for U.S. exporters on how to conduct business in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands will increase an existing tax on beverages as of January 1, 2023. This is envisioned to have a suppressing effect on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. In parallel, the Dutch government is exploring a progressive tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

This report assesses the agricultural biotechnology sector in the Netherlands, and covers related production, trade, and policies. It includes topics related to genetic engineering and innovative plant, animal, and microbial biotechnologies.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packed food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their product image. However, Saudi Arabia imports large quantities of biotech U.S. corn, soybeans, and their products.

Saudi Arabia’s barley imports for the first six months of MY 2022/23 (July – Dec. 2022) are estimated at 2.6 million metric tons (MMT), an increase of six percent compared to the same period last year. Post’s current projection for total barley imports for MY 2022/23 is 4.5 MMT, which is a decrease of four percent compared to the USDA official estimate of 4.7 MMT. Unless the price of barley drastically decreases, Post anticipates demand will remain low throughout MY 2022/23.

Saudi Arabia was a 24th largest market ($1.34 million) for U.S. food and agricultural products last year. A return to pre-Covid living and working conditions are invigorating U.S. agricultural exports to the Kingdom in 2022. U.S. Customs data for January – August 2022 shows an 11 percent increase in U.S. agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia compared to the same period in 2021.

After a summer of Dutch farmer protests, a much-anticipated independent report was presented to the government and public on October 5, 2022. In it, the government-appointed independent facilitator and former politician, Johan Remkes, presented his findings from talks he held with the government, the Dutch agricultural sector, industry, nature organizations, and others.

U.S. exports of consumer-oriented food products to Saudi Arabia decreased four percent in 2021, compared to 2020, to approximately $535 million mainly due to shipping issues (e.g., fewer cargo ships, higher costs, etc.) throughout the year. In June 2022, the Saudi government lifted all COVID-19 restrictions allowing the food service sector to return to pre-pandemic operations while also fully reopening the country to foreign visitors.

On October 3, 2022, the Dutch government announced Mr. Piet Adema has been named the new Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality. Mr. Adema replaces Henk Staghouwer who resigned in September after he informed the Dutch Cabinet and Parliament about his Ministry’s delay in providing a plan for the future outlook of the Dutch agricultural sector and after he failed to obtain Brussels’ permission to continue to exceed caps on how much manure farmers can apply to their fields.