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The Netherlands, as a Member State of the European Union (EU), conforms to all EU regulations and directives. However, rules for the certification of imports are complicated and, in practice, are not always harmonized across EU Member States.

This report is an addendum to GAIN report number E42021-0072, the EU Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) Report, dated October 12, 2021. It is meant to be read in tandem with the aforementioned report and lists the Dutch import regulations and standards that are not harmonized within the EU, or where the Netherlands varies from the EU standards.

The exporter guide provides an economic and market overview, as well as demographic trends and practical tips to U.S. exporters on how to conduct business in the Netherlands. The report additionally describes three market sectors (food retail, food...

The Netherlands and Scandinavian countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark) are key markets for U.S. craft beer and distilled spirits. In 2020, the United States shipped $26 million of beer products and $66 million of distilled spirits to the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries.

Hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) foodservice industry sales in the Netherlands in 2020 were valued at nearly $9.9 billion, down by more than one-third when compared to 2019, because of the closure of many outlets for a prolonged period due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, Dutch wood pellet imports reached a new high, totaling $511 million. The United States was the leading non-European Union (EU) supplier to the Netherlands.

On December 17, 2020, the Dutch Parliament approved a new law that aims to curb nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands.