Sugar · importers
The Netherlands ranks twelfth of 96 at $1.6B in the sugars and sugar confectionery chapter, and its ports and traders move goods on to other European buyers.
| Market | HS 17 imports |
|---|---|
| United States | $7.2B |
| China | $4.2B |
| Indonesia | $3.6B |
| Germany | $2.6B |
| United Kingdom | $2.2B |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 17 (sugars and sugar confectionery); sugar is only part of it. Source: UN Comtrade, as reported by national authorities; latest available year per market.
South Korea is above at $1.6B and Saudi Arabia below at $1.5B. The Netherlands’ 2.4% share of reported world imports is almost the same as both. The chapter is 0.3% of its $621.1B imports and ranks 54th among import chapters.
The Netherlands is a hub for food trading, and sugar, syrups and confectionery pass through its ports and warehouses on the way to other European countries. Some Dutch companies also make sweet products and sell them abroad. Recorded imports therefore say more about throughput than about domestic use.
Ask the importer whether it stocks for resale, packs for retail or manufactures. A stockholder will care about warehouse capacity, financing costs and price risk between purchase and resale, so be ready to discuss payment terms and whether your price is fixed or linked to a market reference at the date of shipment. A trader that forwards sugar also cares about flexibility to split cargoes between customers, so ask whether it wants a single delivery or parcels for several destinations.
Sugar imports into Europe are subject to quotas, duties and preferences that the authorities set and revise, so confirm the present position with them and with the importer. The overall source list is led by Germany, the USA, Belgium and China.
The $1.6B covers all of chapter 17, so it includes confectionery, and re-exports distort rankings in a port economy like this one.
Sugar-heading shipment records name the receiver and tonnage of each arrival. Use them to tell traders from manufacturers, agree Incoterm, currency, payment terms and port, and contact your shortlist through this site’s free marketplace.
Twelfth of 96 markets at $1.6B in 2024, a 2.4% share of reported world imports.
No. Much of it is trade passing through to other countries.
No. Dutch totals mix sugar with sweets moving through the ports.
Read sugar-heading shipment records and separate traders from manufacturers by consignee.
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