Confidence is under pressure from factors such as inflation, rising costs, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, the study shows. At the same time, nearly half of exporters expect the EU’s role as a trading bloc on the world stage to weaken. However, the vast majority still see the European Union as the most important sales market. According to Tom Kaars Sijpesteijn, managing director of credit insurer Atradius, the picture is negative. “The last time the revenue expectation was three percent was in 2012, right after the financial crisis.”
Dutch exporters saw their turnover increase by 6% in 2022. It was still two percent lower than expected a year earlier.
Looking beyond Europe
While Europe is still the most important sales market, they are increasingly looking towards other locations. “The US tops the list where exporters now expect the biggest sales growth.”
The Netherlands are good at finding new markets. “It’s very interesting to see,” says Kaars Sijpesteijn. The report then identifies some ‘surprising’ countries that are becoming increasingly attractive as sales markets, such as Finland and Denmark. ‘Companies don’t want to become too dependent, so they are looking for different markets and more certainties. We have to make sure we remain a strong market.’