Dutch agricultural exports to South Korea grew by over six percent last year, reaching a total export value of 435 million euros. More beer and machinery were also exported.
Despite temporary transport problems at the start of the corona period, trade in agro-food products was not affected. This is reported by the Agriculture Department of the Dutch embassy in Seoul.
The main reasons cited for the export growth are the increasing interest of Korean consumers in Western food and the recent free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union.
The largest export product was milk powder, followed by machines for pork, beer, butter production, and food processing machinery.
Milk powder preparations, pork, and beer ranked second, fourth, and tenth respectively in terms of export value. Milk powder preparation is a mixture of milk and whey powder, originally created to reduce customs duties when exporting to South Korea.
Exports of milk powder preparations grew remarkably and reached 103 million euros, an increase of 32%. The Netherlands is the largest exporter of milk powder preparation with 63% of the market.
Exports of pork amounted to 51 million euros last year, 16% less than the previous year, mainly due to the corona pandemic. Although many businesses and restaurants in South Korea remained open, fears of contamination led to less dining out.
Dutch beer exports reached a record high of 36 million euros in 2020, 34% more than the previous year. The export value almost doubled in two years. In 2020, after 10 years, the Netherlands regained first place in South Korean beer exports, followed by breweries from the US, China, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and Ireland. Consumption of Dutch beer was the only beer to increase despite Covid-19, while total beer imports fell by 19.2%.
Although the Netherlands installed 17 percent fewer food processing machines last year due to corona restrictions, it was still the second-largest exporter of food processing machines last year, with Japan in first place. In the area of meat processing/slaughter machines, the Netherlands was the largest exporter in 2020 with 39% of the market.