Dutch agriculture exporting more to Russia than before Ukraine war

The Netherlands is exporting more agricultural products to Russia than before the war in Ukraine. While Russia destroys Ukraine’s agriculture capabilities, Dutch companies are helping Russia build an agriculture sector that is self-sufficient and thriving, Follow the Money reports.

Dutch companies are particularly exporting modern agricultural machines and vaccines to Russia - merchandise that helps increase yield per hectare, according to FTM. Products for optimizing arable farming are also in demand.

The export of vaccines for livestock and agricultural machinery to Russia increased from 184 million euros in 2021 to 239 million euros in 2022, the first year of the war, FTM reports based on a study by Wageningen University and Statistics Netherlands published in early March. Last year, the second year of the war, was also off to a good start for agricultural exports to Russia. In the first nine months of 2023, these exports already amounted to 172 million euros.

Russia has been working purposefully on its own self-sufficient agricultural sector since 2012. The country is now the world’s largest exporter of grain and related products and uses this success as leverage on the world market. Despite international sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine, the country exported more wheat and flour than ever in 2022 and 2023. In 2019, the Russians exported 23.5 billion euros worth of agricultural products. This year, that is expected to amount to more than 40 billion euros.

Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and fierce supporter of the war in Ukraine, has made no secret about the purpose of the country’s focus on agriculture. It is the “silent weapon” that keeps countries that are dependent on Russian exports under control, he said on Telegram in April 2022. “In case anyone has forgotten, the export value of our agricultural products is greater than that of real weapons - 37 billion dollars last year.”

The Netherlands has played a significant role in building this “silent weapon” and continues to do so, FTM wrote. “When it comes to the growth of greenhouse horticulture in Russia, the Dutch business community plays a prominent role,” Meeuwes Brouwer, the Duth agricultural council in Moscow from 2016 to 2020, told FTM. “The sanctions on both sides have produced losers, but also winners. The greenhouse builders and seed companies belong to the second group.”