Dutch companies sold fewer trucks, buses and plants to Russians in 2022. We exported 3.7 billion euros to Russia, 38 percent less than a year earlier. The large decrease is largely due to European sanctions.
Exports have mainly decreased since March 2022, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. In the first two months of 2022, exports increased.
The export of Dutch-made buses and trucks fell the hardest, by no less than 355 percent. We also exported much less pharmaceuticals to Russia (-347 percent). In product categories such as office machines and plants and flowers (-77 percent), there was also considerably less trade to Russia in 2022.
Re-exports (products made in another country and shipped via the Netherlands) to Russia also fell sharply. Especially chips (-241 percent), mobile phones (-172 percent) and computers went less to Russia.
More than half of Dutch exports to Russia consist of re-exports.
While exports to Russia fell sharply in 2022, this did not apply to imports. We imported a total of almost 21 billion euros, including mainly crude oil, gas and, for example, also nickel, aluminum and copper. The increase in imports was mainly due to higher prices.
In the course of 2022, increasingly strict European sanctions rules will apply to both exports to and imports from Russia. For many product categories, export to Russia is no longer allowed. For example, DAF trucks, Dutch plants and chips may no longer be sold to Russians. There has also been a price cap for crude oil from Russia since December 2022.
