What is the mission of the Netherlands-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture?

Our mission is to increase the Netherlands-Romanian trade and investment by supporting, promoting and defending the interests of our members. We also provide information to members or aspirant members about doing business in Romania and the Netherlands.

What do Dutch-Romanian business relations look like in 2009 and in the first months of 2010, compared to previous years and how do you expect them to develop in the future?

2009 was a difficult year for most Dutch companies, like for any other company.  The first months of 2009 show an increase in business activity, but not always in terms of turnover. We expect the business climate to pick up in a more substantial way as of this autumn.  As far as FDI from Dutch companies is concerned, this reached EUR 8.402 M in 2008, placing the Netherlands on the second place, after Austria (National Bank of Romania report). The share of the Dutch investments of total FDI stock increased from 16.3% in 2007 to 17.2% in 2008.

How many Dutch companies are now operating in Romania?

According to data provided by the National Trade Register Office, the number of Dutch companies is around 3,000.

What would now be Romania’s main attractions to Dutch businesspeople, taking into account the effects of the economic crisis?

Labour costs have effectively gone down, making it more interesting for labor intensive industries. Target industries for Dutch companies will be agriculture (agro-industry), logistics, health industry and environment. We still believe Romania is a potentially very interesting market for Dutch companies, with many opportunities.

Let’s also talk about trade. What position does the Netherlands occupy in the ranking of Romanian exports and imports? What are the main sectors in bilateral trade?

In the total amount of Romanian exports to the European Union during the first eleven months of 2009, the Netherlands is situated on the eighth place according to the Romanian National Institute of Statistics (with 3.2% or EUR 862.6 M). During the same period, imports from the Netherlands amounted to 3.8% or EUR 1,367.2 M of the total imports, situating the country on the seventh place.

The main sectors in bilateral trade are vegetable products, mineral products, foodstuffs, beverages.