Netherlands again beats Belgium as EU’s top beer exporter

The Netherlands was once again the largest beer exporter among European Union member states last year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The Dutch exported 2 billion euros worth of beer last year, while Belgium beer exports totaled 1.7 billion euros in 2023, the CBS wrote on Thursday in an analysis about the trade in beer, frozen potato products such as fries and chocolate.

Most beer from the Netherlands is sold to companies and consumers in the United States, but increasingly also to France, South Africa and Paraguay. Belgian beer is often exported to France and the Netherlands. Of all alcoholic drinks imported into the Netherlands, 19 percent comes from Belgium. From that segment, 58 percent consists of beer, the CBS calculated.

Since the first comparisons in 1988, the Netherlands has had an advantage over its southern neighbor when it comes to the beer trade, although this margin has been shrinking. Belgium has started trading significantly higher volumes of beer in the past 20 years, the CBS said.

German beer exports were valued at 1.2 billion euros, placing that country in third. The Czech Republic placed in fourth with 350 million euros in beer exports, narrowly beating France’s total of 340 million euros.

Belgium earns more from the export of frozen potato products, about a fifth of which consists of fries. In two years, its export value has more than doubled to 3.4 billion euros last year. That far surpasses the 1.6 billion euros in potato exports that put the Netherlands at second in the European Union.

Statistics Netherlands attributed this increase to an increase in the number of french fry factories and higher export prices. Belgian fries are mainly sold to nearby countries, but exports to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Australia and South Africa have grown the fastest.

In terms of the chocolate and cocoa trade, Germany is the largest exporter within the EU, with a total value of 5.8 billion euros. Belgium is in second place with 3.7 billion euros. Of all Dutch chocolate imports, 38 percent comes from the southern neighboring country. According to Statistics Netherlands, Belgian chocolate exports to the Netherlands have grown the most.

Poland ranks third for chocolate and cocoa, sending 2.51 billion euros in products abroad. The Netherlands was fourth with 2.47 billion euros, and Italy ranked fifth with 2.46 billion euros.