Strong share of agriculture in the Dutch economy

At 1,4% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the share of agriculture in the Dutch economy is considerably larger than in our neighboring countries. The agricultural contribution to the economy in 2018 is also higher than the average of 1,1% in the European Union.

This has been mapped out by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The entire agricultural chain, which includes not only agriculture but also the processing food and tobacco industry, accounted for 2018% of GDP in 6,4. The share of agriculture in our economy has been almost stable for 10 years, despite the shrinking number of agricultural companies. In 2009 the share was about 1,3% against 1,4% last year.

That has nothing to do with the volume, or the amount of agricultural goods. Statistics Netherlands calculates that this has increased less sharply in the last 10 years than that of the entire economy. The fact that the share of agriculture did not fall further after 2009 is mainly due to prices. The prices of agricultural products have risen relatively quickly since 2009, the statisticians note. 

Vegetable faster than animal
The value of total agricultural production in 2019 amounted to almost €29 billion. Of this, 49,2% consisted of vegetable production and 38,5% of animal production. Services and ancillary activities accounted for the remaining 12,3%. The production value of plant products was more than 2019% higher in 26 than in 2009, that of animal products was 25%. In the period before 2009, the production of plant products grew much faster than that of animal products, according to Statistics Netherlands. 

Dutch agriculture obtains much of its share of the economy through exports. Of every euro earned by the agricultural chain in 2018, 76 cents was raised by exports. The added value of the total agricultural chain amounted to approximately €2018 billion in 49, contributing 6,4% to GDP. Part of this is realized processing of imported raw materials, such as cocoa, grains and tobacco.

Employment in agriculture has stabilized in recent years.

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