Netherlands: value import and export Gouda cheese 2021

The Netherlands and cheese go hand in hand. Edammer, Maasdammer, Leerdammer and Oud Amsterdam are all well-known abroad, but the most famous Dutch cheese is without doubt Gouda. Named after the town Gouda in the province Zuid-Holland where it was predominantly traded for centuries, Gouda cheese and Dutch cheese have almost become synonyms nowadays.

 Export value of Gouda cheese reaches nearly 1.3 billion euros

   Between 2008 and 2021, the export value of Gouda far exceeded the import. According to the most recent figures, the export of Gouda from the Netherlands was valued at over 1.26 billion euros – the second-highest value in the period surveyed. By comparison, the value of Edam cheese exported from the Netherlands in this period was 319 million euros.

Germany leading destination for Dutch cheese

  Just under 40 percent of all Dutch cheese exports was destined for the neighboring countries Germany and Belgium. Nearly one-third of the cheese exported from the Netherlands was exported to Germany, and another 11 percent to Belgium. Dutch cheese was mainly popular in other European countries, but further afield the Japanese (three percent of all exports) and the South Koreans (two percent) were also clearly Dutch cheese enthusiasts. In total, nearly 300 million kilos of cheese were exported to Germany in 2021. Exports to Japan amounted to roughly one-tenth of that figure, at 31.9 million kilos.

Value of the import and export of Gouda cheese in the Netherlands from 2008 to 2021 (in thousand euros)

Characteristic	Import value	Export value
2021*	128,683	1,261,594
2020	133,897	1,261,368
2019	151,574	1,248,463
2018	149,757	1,189,408
2017	157,791	1,281,839
2016	113,012	1,085,430
2015	134,468	1,053,627
2014	131,192	1,235,827
2013	151,861	1,272,423
2012	101,009	1,094,725
2011	120,224	1,101,036
2010	136,806	994,209
2009	91,845	812,352
2008	79,085	1,093,278

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Source

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

July 2022

More information

Region

Netherlands

Survey time period

2008 to 2021

Supplementary notes

Import value includes shipping costs and insurance costs to the Dutch border (in the case of EU imports) or the EU border (in the case of non-EU imports). Imports include all goods imported for use or consumption in the Netherlands over which national taxes and import levies are paid. This includes temporarily imported goods of non-residents processed under contract in the Netherlands and goods imported from non-EU countries entering the Netherlands via warehouses and re-exports.

Export value includes shipping costs and insurance costs to the Dutch border. Exports include goods manufactured in the Netherlands and re-exports and temporarily exported goods of residents processed under contract abroad.

The figures only include cheese with less than 40 percent fat and a moisture level of between 47 and 72 percent. The figures exclude grated and powder cheese and cheese destined for processing.

* Figures are provisional.

Citation formats