Dutch companies lose 80 billion euros in export opportunities. This is evident from research by consultancy Ecorys.
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. Prior to this, several studies have been published on the economic consequences of Brexit. For example, the chemical and agricultural sectors, as well as smaller companies, stand to lose a lot of money as a result of a British exodus.
A recent study by Ecorys – conducted on behalf of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) – shows that the economic consequences of segregation are indeed significant. For example, Dutch companies’ exports to the UK fell by an average of 20% after Brexit.
However, according to the consulting and research firm, Dutch entrepreneurs can recoup lost revenue elsewhere. For example, researchers report that companies from our country lose 40.2 billion euros in export opportunities within the European Union.
The Ecorys Group looked at the Group of Twenty (G20), which, in addition to the European Union, includes nineteen countries with the world’s largest economies. Dutch companies could trade significantly more with these nineteen countries: in total, this amounts to €38.1 billion in untapped export opportunities.
Opportunities by region and sector
In total, Dutch companies lose 80 billion euros in export opportunities. A significant portion of this could be leveraged by increasing trade with China (€1.3 billion) and the US (€2.9 billion), which has a high demand for electronics.
In addition, many entrepreneurs ignore Germany. Exports of fruits (€93 million), plants and flowers (€741 million) and vegetables (€1.1 billion) still have plenty of growth potential.
Also, France appears to offer interesting export opportunities for the Dutch transport sector (€557 million) and South Korea has a shortage of food products (€368 million). G20.
