Recently, Nansheng quoted the information released by the World Trade Organization to share the export data of global agricultural products with netizens - in 2021, the export value of agricultural products from countries and regions around the world increased to 2.162376 billion US dollars, an increase of 19.9% compared with 1803.726 billion US dollars in the previous year.
Among them, US agricultural exports still maintain a large advantage in countries and regions around the world - as high as 201.572 billion US dollars in 2021, compared with 170.493 billion US dollars in the same period last year, an increase of 18.2%, and the only country in the world that exports agricultural products as high as 200 billion US dollars.
In second place are not the large economies of Brazil, Germany, China, Canada, Australia and Russia, but the Netherlands, which is relatively small in size - agricultural exports in 2021 were about 129.038 billion US dollars, and has been the runner-up for many years.
What is the reason why the Netherlands has long been second only to the United States in terms of agricultural exports? The interpretation given by many self-media is: play high-tech - make full use of the advantages of scientific and technological innovation, and produce "efficient, high value-added agricultural products" on the limited cultivated land.
Nansheng tells you that the above view is absurd
Let's look at some data first, also released by the World Trade Organization! The top five global merchandise trade in 2021 are China, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan. Among them, the total amount of mainland import and export commodities has achieved a breakthrough of 6 trillion US dollars, and the global proportion has increased to 13.51%.
The total foreign trade of the United States in 2021 is about $4.692 trillion, Germany ranks third in the world with a total foreign trade of $3.051 trillion, the Netherlands has a total foreign trade of $1.593 trillion, Japan is about $1.525 trillion, and France is about $1.299 trillion.
Then there are South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium - Belgium, a country smaller in land, population and GDP than the Netherlands, actually ranked in the top ten.
Look at another set of data: the Netherlands, a country that cannot be self-sufficient in energy, its fuel exports in 2021 were as high as 101.605 billion US dollars, ranking eighth in the world after the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Norway.
Nansheng also noted that Belgium's energy export value ranks 14th in the world; Belgium's agricultural exports and imports in 2021 ranked among the highest in the world; In other areas, the Netherlands and Belgium also rank very high in imports.
All right! The Netherlands and Belgium export such a large amount of agricultural products in the world, and the answer is self-evident. It's not that they "play with technology" in agriculture – it is not ruled out that there may be a small boost, but it is definitely not the core factor.
The real reason is that the Netherlands and Belgium are important transit hubs for trade between other countries and regions and the EU. In particular, Rotterdam in the Netherlands has long been the largest port in the EU's foreign trade, and it also has a large leading advantage in the world - entrepot trade, which promotes the growth of Dutch foreign trade.
Entrepot trade, sometimes referred to as "transit trade", can avoid various interference factors such as taxes, anti-dumping, most-favored-nation treatment, trade sanctions and other interference factors through international trading carried out by third countries.
Inspired by this model, the Netherlands ranks among the world's leaders in energy trade, agricultural product trade, equipment and equipment trade, pharmaceutical trade, integrated circuit trade and electronic component trade. Thanks to the Port of Antwerp (the second largest port in Europe), Belgium's agricultural exports also exceed those of many large agricultural countries.
Comments: Singapore and Hong Kong are also making their fortunes using entrepot trade, and observing the foreign trade and related structures in these regions cannot be separated from the background of "entrepot trade". Taking high technology as a reason for taking it for granted is not only one-sided, but also somewhat absurd. This article is written by Nansheng, please do not reprint or plagiarize without authorization!