More exporters trade with Africa than importers
In 2019, about 7,000 companies were exported to Africa; Imported only from Africa 3.9 thousand Businesses. In 2020, the Netherlands exported 15.0 billion Euro-worth goods were imported to Africa before that 10.9 billion Euro from Africa. In contrast to trade with the European Union, the United States and Asia, Africa has more exporters than importers. It is also related to the fact that many commodities imported from Africa, such as oil, coffee, tea, cocoa and fruit and vegetables, are often traded in bulk; Dutch exports, on the other hand, are very diverse, meaning that many more Dutch exporters are active in African markets.
| Continent | Exporters | Importers | Two-way traders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 6 985 | 3 875 | 1 235 |
| European union | 93 285 | 215 660 | 63 805 |
| United States | 14 890 | 27 385 | 8 115 |
| Asia | 13 935 | 41 680 | 9 135 |
| * Initial stats | |||
Low level of expertise in Africa
Only a small fraction of companies trading with the continent specialize in trade with Africa. In 2019, only 7 percent of exporters and 8 percent of importers traded with Africa alone, up from 4 percent for two-way traders. Companies that export or import only to Africa, often have fewer than 10 employees and operate mainly through trade mediation.
Most exporters and importers in industry and wholesale
Within Dutch trade, exports and imports of goods with Africa are concentrated in the wholesale, retail and industrial sectors. The majority of commercial exporters are machine wholesalers, followed by wholesalers of food, non-food items, clothing, household goods and pharmaceuticals. As far as the industry is concerned, most exporters are active in the machinery industry, food industry and chemical industry. As for importers, the top 3 are wholesalers of non-food and non-food machinery. In the industry, most importers are active in the machine industry, followed by the food industry and the electrical engineering industry.
| Exporters | 3695 | 1885 | 640 | 430 | 135 | 205 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Importers | 2195 | 715 | 455 | 235 | 100 | 180 |
| * Initial stats | ||||||
Larger companies have a greater share in trade with Europe than in Africa
In 2019, large companies accounted for 32 percent of exporters to Africa, accounting for 81 percent of the value of exports to Africa. By comparison: In the case of the EU, large companies account for 70 percent of the value of exports, compared to 84 percent for the United States and Asia. The extent to which large Dutch companies dominate exports compared to independent small and medium-sized businesses varies greatly between different countries in Africa. For Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa, 85 per cent or more of the value of exports in 2019 was calculated by large corporations, compared to less than 50 per cent in Ghana.
| Nigeria | 94.7 |
|---|---|
| Algeria | 87.4 |
| South Africa | 85.0 |
| Mozambique | 83.3 |
| Morocco | 81.9 |
| Egypt | 81.8 |
| Tunisia | 81.5 |
| Senegal | 79.9 |
| Kenya | 77.3 |
| Tanzania | 73.1 |
| Uganda | 71.4 |
| Ivory Coast | 59.9 |
| Rwanda | 53.3 |
| Ethiopia | 52.9 |
| Ghana | 49.5 |
| * Initial stats | |
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