Schouten: Foreign land purchases no concern

Agriculture Minister Schouten does not consider the foreign purchases of Dutch agricultural land to be a cause for concern for the time being. Dutch agricultural land is almost entirely in Dutch hands, the minister writes in a letter to parliament.

In this letter the minister writes that foreign land purchases have been mapped out and do not yet lead to acute concerns. "Foreign purchases of Dutch agricultural land are relatively small-scale. In the years 2015 to 2017, an average of about 1.100 hectares of agricultural land was purchased by foreign residents, mostly Europeans. This is about 0,06% of all agricultural land. There is no rising trend perceived."

Small risk
The minister also estimates the risk of a rapid takeover of Dutch land by foreigners as small. "The figures show that about 1% of the land outside the family changes hands every year." Moreover, it is difficult, because 2% of the almost 85 million hectares of agricultural land is in the hands of many different owners. Mainly farmers.

Uit the numbers shows that in 2015 and 2016 buyers from Belgium bought the largest acreage in the Netherlands. This involved approximately 500 hectares. In 2017 it was Switzerland with 445 hectares. Germany and France are other countries from which relatively many buyers from Dutch soil come. Other countries in the list are Monaco, Aruba and the US.

Important to preserve soil
The minister recognizes the importance of preserving Dutch agricultural land. "Circular agriculture in many cases requires more land for constant yields. The importance of preserving Dutch agricultural land for Dutch farmers speaks for itself."

The letter is a response to a motion from the House of Representatives. It expressed the fear that much agricultural land would fall into foreign hands. The reason was the impending acquisitions of AkzoNobel and Unilever in 2017. Schouten promises to keep an eye on the situation, because she wants to prevent too much land from falling into foreign hands. This could lead to risks of strategic dependence or damage to vital services provided by agriculture.

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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