اتـــــــــــــــــــــــاق بـــــــــــــــــــــــازرگـــــــــــــــــــــــانـــــــــــــــــــــــی و صـــــــــــــــــــــــنــــــــــايــــــــــع و مــعـــــــــــــــــــــــادن ايـــــــــــــــــــــــــران

Review of the Dutch economy

Sources: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), De Nederlandsche Bank

top

The Dutch economy in perspective
The Dutch economy is an open, export oriented economy. More than half of what the Netherlands produces is destined for foreign markets. The pillars of the Dutch economy include not only trade and distribution, but also high-tech industry and a sizeable services sector. The internationally renowned 'polder model' is often seen as the secret behind the success of Dutch socio-economic policy. The key to this model is the widely supported agreement between employers, unions and the government to strive for wage moderation. The unique feature of this model lies in the constructive dialogue between the three parties.

Economic growth has slowed down across the world in 2001. In the Netherlands is has slowed down more than in the European Union as a whole, after being higher than the EU average for the last five years. The decline in economic growth in the United States in 2001 is greater than that in Europe. The Japanese economy has shrunk slightly. The slowdown in growth in the Netherlands is not yet reflected in the unemployment rates. Dutch unemployment is still low in an international context: 1.9% of the labour force, compared with 7.7% for the European Union. Both in the European Union and in the Netherlands unemployment was lower in 2001 than in 2000. In the United States it rose to 4.4% and in Japan too, unemployment is growing: in 2001 it was 4.9%. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew in 2001 by 1.1%. Export growth too, slowed down considerably in the first nine months of 2001 by 3.6%. Dutch exporters are experiencing the consequences of the world-wide economic decline. Consumer spending was also less dynamic than in recent years and showed the lowest growth rate since 1993. Consumers are putting more money in the bank. After high growth rates in the last few years, corporate investment is also slowing down. Companies are spending less on machines, computers, company cars and housing. Public spending increased by more than average. The government spent more on large infrastructure projects such as the Betuwe rail link and the high speed train link.


The strong growth in employment has kept the pressure on the labour market in 2001. Just as in recent years, the number of jobs has increased by about 200,000. About half the new jobs are full-time, the other half part-time. The increase in the number of vacant jobs did come to a standstill in 2001. At the end of the second quarter of 2001 there were just as many unfilled vacancies as one year previously. Unemployment fell further, however; at an average 146,000 in 2001, the number of registered unemployed has reached a new low. Overall, the declining economic growth has not yet resulted in less pressure on the labour market.

As far back as 1957, six European countries, including the Netherlands, agreed to form a common market. Now that this market is a fact and the number of countries in the European Union has risen to fifteen. On 1 January 2002 the currencies of twelve of which making up the Economic and Monetary Union have made way for the euro. Although the Netherlands is one of the smallest of these countries, in terms of population numbers and the size of the economy it comes first after the largest euro zone countries of Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Per capital GDP is only higher in Luxembourg and Ireland. And unemployment is remarkably low in the Netherlands: only 1.4% of the 11.6 million euro zone's unemployed live in the Netherlands. In the euro zone some 304 million people are living, five percent of the total world population and more than in the other two economic world powers: the United States and Japan, who have 285 million and 127 million inhabitants respectively. The combined land area of the euro zone countries accounts for two percent of the world’s total land area, and is the equivalent of just a quarter of the area of the United States, but is 6.5 times the size of Japan, which is by far the most densely populated of the three. Together the three economic superpowers account for nearly half of world production. The United States has the largest economy of the three, while the economy of the euro zone is nearly twice the size of Japan’s.
With borders blurring, internationalisation of activities is very important in many industries. This is a clearly visible trend, for instance in the financial world and the transport sector. Internationalisation forces companies to think in terms of increasing their scale. The favoured method is usually through external growth. In recent years Dutch industry made a head start for an international future with a number of spectacular acquisitions.
 

Source: Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB),
De Nederlandsche Bank, Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
 

TOP

Economic Sectors

The state of the Dutch economy is reflected in the results of practically every sector. In 2001 manufacturing and construction output remained below the levels of 2000. Production in agriculture fell, mainly because of the foot-and-mouth crisis. While commercial services has showed the most prosperous growth rates in recent years, in 2001 they also slowed down substantially: growth rates in financial services, hotels and restaurants, and the ICT sector were all down on 2000. The fastest growing sector in 2001 was non-commercial services, such as the government and the care sector, where the growth rate doubled.

The commercial services sector is far and away the largest economic sector in the Netherlands. This is entirely due to the country's geographic location. By nature an ideal point of entry to Europe for goods flows by sea, with its sea ports in Rotterdam and Amsterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Netherlands has grown into the Gateway to Europe for America and Asia. This transit function attracts a lot of support industries, such as transport and trading companies. The Dutch transport firms have secured a large share of the European transport market.

The Netherlands is Europe's largest exporter of agricultural produce. Every day the Netherlands provides the continent with fruit, vegetables and flowers. But the crop also goes to more distant markets: every day fresh Dutch flowers, fruit and vegetables are delivered to countries as far away as the United States and Japan. The standard of research in the agricultural sector and food processing industry is very high in the Netherlands. As a result, the Dutch are constantly able to improve aspects such as the taste or nutritional value of their produce. The yield per hectare in the agricultural and horticultural sector is very high. The large food processing industry owes its existence to this abundance of farm produce.

Dutch industry is not only of a high quality, but is also versatile. Practically every high-tech sector is represented, from IT manufacturers to aerospace producers and the modern life science process industry. The most expansive industrial sector is the chemical industry. The largest Dutch chemical concerns, such as Shell Chemie, Akzo Nobel and DSM, generate the lion's share of their sales abroad. Thanks to the growing international demand for Dutch products, industrial output rose in 2001 by roughly 3.8% compared with 2000.
 

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

TOP

Services
The service sector is the largest in the Dutch economy. The sector's share of employment has increased sharply over the past few decades and will continue to rise in 2001. Increasingly, the jobs are taken by people who have attended higher education.

The service sector is not only expanding in the domestic market, but its export value is also increasing. The export surplus in the trade in services is rising sharply, mainly due to international logistics services. Transport and logistics have always been a specialty of the Netherlands.

International cooperation is also increasingly the key to a successful future in the financial services sector. In Europe this process is being accelerated by the European Monetary Union and the impending introduction of the euro. Dutch banks and insurance companies like ABN Amro Bank, Ing Bank and Fortis have made their presence felt in the past few years through a series of takeovers and mergers.

The Netherlands has the highest density of PCs in Europe and the importance of information technology is acknowledged at all levels of Dutch society. The Dutch are open-minded about computerization and have given this relatively young sector every chance to develop and grow. Internet technology is making it possible for branches of international companies to communicate with one another through intranets, even across national borders. This is inducing customers to demand a single standard and requiring IT companies to internationalise their activities. No wonder Dutch IT companies like Getronics, CMG and Origin are concentrating on the foreign market.

The Dutch communications sector is particularly dynamic. The liberalization of the telecom industry has sparked off a period of extraordinary growth. Dutch call centres have an extensive circle of foreign clients and provide commercial services or telephone support to these companies' customers in Europe and even beyond.

Dutch consulting engineering firms are mainly active in the field of civil engineering, the offshore industry and environmental technology. Familiar names include Fugro, Arcadis, Grontmij, DHV and Oranjewoud. Dutch dredging companies are active in the Middle East, the Far East and Central America, where they are involved in large-scale infrastructure projects and land reclamation projects.

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

TOP

Industry
Dutch industry is both high-tech and varied. Practically every sector is represented in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, there are two sectors that clearly dominate as regards the volume of production: the chemical and food processing industries. The chemical sector is the largest exporting sector, although it only accounts for 10% of industrial employment. This is partly explained by the fact that the Netherlands is home to a number of multinationals, including Shell Chemie, Akzo Nobel and DSM, which are among the world's twenty largest companies.

The fresh produce from the 'Garden of Europe' is exported to all corners of the world. Part of the enormous agricultural output constitutes the raw materials for the extensive food processing industry in the Netherlands. An important company in this sector is the food to detergents conglomerate Unilever. Players in this market are also striving to reinforce their position by expanding their portfolio and through further international growth.

The foodstuffs and chemical sectors engage in advanced research into the application of modern life science processes to replace chemical processes. The fruits of the new technology are already widely used, especially in the agro sector and in medicine production.

TOP

Food & flowers
The Netherlands has traditionally had a strong agricultural sector. Thanks to the country's high standard of agricultural research, the yield per hectare in the agricultural and horticultural sectors is high. As result, for a relatively small country the Netherlands has an impressive annual output. Much of that produce is exported. The Netherlands is one of Europe's largest exporters of agricultural and horticultural products, and ranks third in the world.

With an annual output of around 11 billion kilos of milk, the Netherlands is one of the leading dairy producers in the world. Half the milk production is used to manufacture cheese.

Some of the agricultural and horticultural output is supplied to the extensive Dutch food, drink and tobacco industry. This sector is led by the multinational Unilever, which is one of the world's largest companies. In the beverages branch, the Netherlands enjoys worldwide fame as a beer producer. Heineken is the most international brewing group in the world and is active in more than 170 countries. Other brewers with international activities are Grolsch and Bavaria.

The large Dutch agriculture and food industries can rely on national manufacturers for their equipment, from farm machinery to the most advanced production systems, and from greenhouses to the most innovative packaging design.

The Dutch agriculture and food processing sectors are engaged in a continuous process of improving the quality of their products. Research institutes conduct research into the cultivation of high quality plants designed to improve taste, appearance, nutritional value or resistance to disease.
 

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Monthly Statistics for Agriculture

TOP

Energy
When it comes to the supply of energy, the Netherlands is active on the international scene in more than one respect. It supplies energy to Europe, serves as the entrepot for oil products for the whole of north-western Europe, and is an international champion of sustainable energy.

The natural gas reserves beneath Dutch soil and the petroleum and gas reserves off the Dutch North Sea coast allow the Netherlands to make a significant contribution to the European energy supply. Its main customers are Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland. Thanks to Dutch gas, these countries can adjust quickly to fluctuations in the demand for natural gas. Customers are supplied with the agreed grade and quantity of 'made to measure' gas at the agreed pressure. Each year approximately 40 billion m3 of natural gas passes through the seventeen export stations.

The Netherlands has built up an extensive subcontracting sector devoted to the extraction and distribution of fossil fuels. Leading companies in the offshore industry include Heerema Fabrication Group, Tebodin, Stork Engineering & Contractors and Fugro.

Thanks to its geographic location, the Netherlands has become north-western Europe's entrepot for oil. Shell, Esso, Nerefco (a joint venture between BP and Texaco), Kuwait Petroleum and Total all have refineries in the Rotterdam port area.

Sustainable energy is attracting more and more interest. One reason is that the large-scale use of fossil fuels is contributing to the greenhouse effect. Another is that the supply of fossil fuels is finite. Research institutes, industry and the authorities are investing heavily in R&D programmes exploring the use of alternative sources of energy like the sun, the wind, water and biomass/waste. These investments are not only gradually increasing the share of electricity supplied by alternative sources of energy, but are also stimulating sales of sustainable energy products and services to markets outside the country.

Research institutes and companies such as Lagerweij, NedWind, Stork and Rotorline are exploring and tapping the potential of wind energy. The Netherlands is one of the frontrunners in international research into the photovoltaic conversion of sunlight into electricity.

TOP

Core Economic Regions
Despite the Netherlands' relatively small size, the country has a variety of core economic regions. The nature of economic activity in these regions is determined largely by their history and geographic location.

Numerous activities linked directly or indirectly to distribution and storage are situated at the mouths of major waterways, for example in Zeeland, in the Rijnmond area at Rotterdam and at the North Sea Canal near Amsterdam. The dynamic emergence of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as a major European airport has attracted many companies to the immediate vicinity.

The north of the Netherlands is traditionally agricultural, but in addition to various major companies the region is also host to a relatively large number of smaller businesses. The province of Utrecht is located at the heart of the country and plays an important role in business services. The head offices and branches of many Dutch and foreign IT companies are located there.

The east of the Netherlands is home to a sizeable farming sector (primarily crops and livestock) with a large meat processing industry. Other major industrial firms are also located in the east, such as the chemical group Akzo Nobel. The country's top rate electronics industry is concentrated in Noord-Brabant, Philips being the leading company in this sector. Noord-Brabant is also home to the truck industry which has grown up around DAF Trucks.

The southernmost province, Limburg, stands out among the rest as a crossroads of main European transport routes. Motorways and the busy railway lines that stretch between the west of the Netherlands, Germany's Rhine/Ruhr area and Central Europe all run through Limburg. The inland shipping industry makes use of the River Meuse and the Juliana Canal to gain access to the major European waterways.

One of the pillars of Limburg's economic infrastructure is Maastricht-Aachen Airport, a Euro regional airport which serves as a vital transport node for scheduled passenger services, charter flights and international goods transport. Limburg also boasts a major chemical corporation (DSM), as well as the car manufacturer Nedcar, which produces Mitsubishis and Volvos.

The eastern province of Overijssel was always one of the most highly industrialized provinces of the Netherlands, specifically because of the textile industry. The decline of this industry was compensated for by the growing level of industrialization in other sectors. The most important industries in Overijssel today are metal, chemicals, rubber and meat processing. Agriculture is another relatively important sector. The presence of Twente Technical University means that Overijssel plays a significant role in the field of research, both technical and otherwise.

TOP

Foreign trade
Exports is unquestionably the main engine of economic growth in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is one of the world's ten leading exporting nations, an exceptional performance for a small country with a population of 16 million.

The most important market for Dutch exports is the European Union (78.5% of total exports). The United States comes a distant second (4,2% of total exports), but is rapidly gaining in importance. In the European Union, Germany is the largest market for Dutch products.

Capital goods dominate the Dutch export package: machines, transport equipment and manufactured goods. The share of these product groups within the export mix is still growing. Besides the export of goods produced by the national industry, the Netherlands also has a large externally oriented services sector. Important export services are transport, trade, construction, dredging and technical and financial services.

The demand for raw materials and semi manufactures for processing is rising. Due to heavy corporate investment, considerably more machines and cars are being purchased abroad. Sales of foreign durable consumer goods, such as clothing and consumer electronics, are also strong.

The Netherlands is on the eve of significant changes in the international environment: the progressive globalisation of the world economy and the creation of the European Monetary Union. These developments present opportunities as well as threats. With the internationalisation of companies and heavy investment in the knowledge infrastructure and education, the Netherlands is preparing to successfully meet these challenges.
 

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

TOP

The European Union and Economic and Monetary Union
The Netherlands was one of the original proponents of economic and political integration in Europe. Together with five other European countries, the Netherlands decided in 1957 to begin a gradual process designed to end in a common market so that import duties and other trade barriers could be abolished. In 1998 the number of member states has increased to fifteen and the goal has been achieved: free and unrestricted movement of goods, services, persons and capital.

The Maastricht Treaty in 1991 laid the foundations for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with a single currency, the euro. The Netherlands meets the criteria for participation in EMU. For years now the country has had low inflation and low interest rates and the guilder is a stable currency. In addition, the budget deficit has met the EMU criterion since 1996 and the government debt ratio is now declining.

On 1 January 1999 the exchange rates of the currencies of the participating countries against the euro were fixed. Since then the financial markets already worked in euros. Euro banknotes and coins have come into circulation in January 2002. The European Central Bank, under its Dutch president W. F. Duisenberg, and the national central banks together form the European System of Central Banks.

Trade in Europe is expected to receive an enormous stimulus from the arrival of Economic and Monetary Union and the launch of the euro. Since the currency is legal tender throughout the euro area, it will eliminate exchange rate uncertainty and conversion costs.

The European Union has 376 million inhabitants. To compare: the population of the United States is 281 million and Japan's is 126 million. The arrival of the euro will also boost trade between the continents as it will be easier for countries outside Europe to work with the various countries participating in the monetary union.

Cooperation between the member states is not confined to the economic sphere. Efforts are being made to intensify cooperation on foreign and security policy and in the fields of justice and home affairs. There is an awareness that individual countries may be unable to tackle many issues adequately on their own. One good example is the environment. The Netherlands has long been lobbying in the European Union for a European environmental policy.

TOP

Population and Labour Supply
The rise in the number of jobs is currently outstripping growth in the supply of labour, thereby lowering the Netherlands' unemployment figure. For many years now there has been both a steady rise in the educational level of the working population and an increase in the level of skill required to fill the jobs on offer. One of the important labour market trends of our time is the move towards flexibility. Flexibility refers not only to working hours and employment terms but also to specific duties and the jobs themselves. All the parties benefit in a balanced market.

The Netherlands has an active working population of 7,1 million people, a number which continues to rise. The number of jobs increased in 2001 by 200,000. In 2001 unemployment fell further to 1.9%, the lowest percentage since 1980. The number of jobs grew fastest in the care and social services sector, where 56,000 new jobs were created in 2001. This sector has taken over the baton from trade, hotels and restaurants, and financial and business services in terms of the largest increase in employment. The increase in the number of jobs in the care and social services sector rose from 1.3 percent in 1999 to 4.4 percent in 2001.
The jobs on offer in the Dutch labour market have consistently become more high skilled since 1960. Over the past 25 years the average educational level of the Dutch labour force has also risen sharply. The number of people who have attended secondary and tertiary education increased from 32% in 1970 to 65% in 2001. This figure is forecast to exceed 70% in the years ahead.

Developments in the labour market increasingly point towards flexibility as the key to satisfying the demands of customers, organizations and employees. Because the interests of the parties involved sometimes conflict, balanced, stable and flexible labour relations are required. By differentiating employment terms, the labour market in the Netherlands has become significantly more flexible.

Thanks to the growing economy and, in particular, the trend towards flexibility, the temporary employment sector has expanded rapidly in the past few years. The demand for specialist skilled labour has been growing for some years now, a trend to which the temporary employment sector was quick to respond by introducing new, often small scale temporary employment agencies. Right now, around a third of the Dutch labour force is engaged in some form of 'flexi work', putting the Netherlands far ahead of the rest of the industrialized world in this respect.

The rapid advances in technology and globalisation are changing job descriptions and eliminating jobs faster than ever before. Dutch companies are anticipating these developments by working on the 'employability' of their staff: retraining and supplementary training are ongoing points of concern for both companies and their workers. Employees no longer learn a trade that they practise the rest of their lives; they now engage in lifelong learning.
 

Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

TOP

The Internet
The number of people who have access to the Internet at home rose sharply in 2001. Today 57 percent of Dutch people live in a household that is connected to the world-wide-web, more than twice the number two years ago. The number of households with a personal computer has also increased. In 2001 three-quarters of the population, some 12 million people, have a PC at home. Most people use the Internet to surf and e-mail. In 2001, nine out of ten households with an Internet connection surf the Net and use electronic mail facilities. Half of households with access to the Internet download files and programs via the electronic highway, and about twenty percent shop on the Internet.

TOP

The Netherlands on the Internet
Thanks to the Internet, many people living in foreign countries have access to a wealth of information about Dutch society in languages other than Dutch. The most important supplier of information in this field is the Dutch government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs oversees the Internet pages which carry the most comprehensive information in English about Dutch society. In addition, a growing number of Dutch embassies are launching websites. These will focus entirely on providing information on bilateral relations between the Netherlands and the country in which the relevant embassy is located.

The best sites for macroeconomic information are those of the Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, the Dutch Central Bank, the Amsterdam stock exchange, Statistics Netherlands, and the major Dutch banks: ABN Amro, Rabobank and ING Group.

The site set up by the Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency, which can be accessed in French, German, English, Spanish and Chinese, consists of articles about the Dutch economy and the different economic sectors. The site also contains a large number of fact sheets providing more detailed information on specific segments of the Dutch economy. Visitors can also access the quarterly magazine Holland Economic Tribune from this site; this newsletter offers descriptions of new Dutch export products and much more. The 'links to interesting sites' take visitors to other English language sites in the Netherlands offering information on the Dutch economy.

Economic reports in the Netherlands are usually based on data provided by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The CBS site furnishes statistics on every conceivable aspect of life in the Netherlands, and specifically on a vast range of economic subjects. The Dutch Central Bank's Internet site offers a large number of reports on EMU and the euro. The page with WWW links takes the user to central banks elsewhere in the world.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs also provides information in English on policy issues in the fields of the environment and energy, as well as economic forecasts.
 

خانه | نشريات | قوانين | اتاقهای مشترک | شعب اتاق | اتحاديه ها | اتصالات | درباره ايران | دفترچه تلفن | تماس با اتاق

Hosted by SGNetWay