Why Netherlands is the world’s 2nd largest agricultural exporter?
The northern European country of the Netherlands has become the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products after the United States of America (USA). According to National Geographic’s research, the Netherlands exported 92 billion euros worth of agricultural products in 2017. The USA holds the leadership in this field with 140.5 billion dollars.
The Netherlands does not achieve this export rate by producing and selling every product in the country. 25.5 billion euros of this figure comes to the Netherlands as seeds, fruits and vegetables, animal and garden products from other countries and is exported to other countries after being processed in the country.
Flowers and bulbs such as tulips, carnations and roses make up the majority of the agricultural products sold by the Netherlands. Milk and dairy products are in second place and meat exports are in third place.
Most of the Netherlands, which has a land area of approximately 34 thousand square kilometers, is farmed in greenhouses using advanced technology. Water use is 90 percent less than normal. As a modern agricultural country, the Netherlands also attaches importance to organic production.
The use of pesticides such as pesticides is almost zero in the country. Drones and driverless tractors are used in many greenhouses and fields. In this way, factors such as the fertility of the soil and the quality of the products can be controlled unmanned. The crop yield from cultivated land in the Netherlands is twice as high as in other countries.
At the top in tomato, pepper and cucumber production
The Netherlands has the world’s highest percentage of harvested fruit and vegetable production compared to the cultivated area. The Netherlands is the number one exporter of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, which are widely consumed all over the world. The technology developed by Dutch farmers is used in 140 different countries including China, India, Mexico, Ghana and Ethiopia.
The Netherlands sells 25 percent of its agricultural products to neighboring Germany. In Europe, Belgium, the UK and France make up the biggest market after Germany. In addition to agricultural products, the Netherlands exports more than 9 billion Euros annually from the sale of products such as fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural machinery used in agriculture.
The United States, the world’s number one exporter of agricultural products, has an area 270 times larger than this northern European country. With 17 million inhabitants, the Netherlands has 1,300 people per square kilometer. According to the data, the amount of agricultural products to be produced in the next 40 years will be more than the amount produced in the last 8,000 years. By 2050, the world’s population will exceed 10 billion, which could lead the world to face the problem of hunger in the future.
