Embassy of India
The Hague
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Brief on India-Netherlands Bilateral Trade & Investment

(I) Introduction

Indo-Dutch business relations date back to more than 400 years. The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, the VOC) was established in 1602 as one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. It was granted a monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia by the States General of the Netherlands. In 1604, the VOC began trading in India, becoming the first European firm to operate in India (though Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in India, the Portuguese trade with India had been a crown monopoly). With India as a base, the VOC traded in Indigo, Raw Silk, Textiles, Cotton, Saltpetre, Opium, Rice, Bricks, Lamp Oil, Wood, Roof Tiles, etc. The VOC was active in India till its bankruptcy and dissolution in 1799. Thereafter, the Batavian Republic, Batavian Commonwealth, Kingdom of Holland and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands operated trading posts, forts and factories in India till 1825 before ceding ground to the British.

The VOC first concentrated on the Coromandel Coast of South-East India, an important textile-producing region. They set up their first factory in India in 1605 in Masulipatnam (modern Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh). The VOC initially built a factory in 1610 and then a fort called Geldria in 1615 at Paliacatte/Paliakate/Pallaicatta (modern Pulicat in Tamil Nadu). In the fortress, the Dutch bought cotton clothing from Indian traders, which they exchanged for spices in Indonesia. The first VOC mint in India was established in Fort Geldria in 1615 where ‘Kas’ Copper coins with VOC monogram and a Sanskrit legend were minted. The Pulicat mint operated till 1674, when a new mint was established at Nagapattinam. After Pulicat, the VOC later held settlements on the Coromandel Coast at Tuticorin (modern Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu), Negapatam (modern Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu), Bimilipatnam (modern Bheemili in Andhra Pradesh), Petapoly (modern Nizampatnam in Andhra Pradesh), Porto Novo (modern Parangipettai in Tamil Nadu), Golkonda (in Telangana), Draksharama (in Andhra Pradesh), Pondicherry, etc.

Coromandel was a Governorate of the VOC from 1610 until the company’s liquidation in 1799. From 1616 to 1690, Pulicat was the official headquarters of Dutch Coromandel. The headquarters of the colony shifted to Fort Vijf Sinnen in Nagapattinam in 1690. The Fort Vijf Sinnen was taken over by the British in 1781 after the siege of Negapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The British occupied the entire Dutch Coromandel in 1795. Though the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 temporarily restored the Dutch Coromandel to the Dutch rule in 1818, it was finally ceded to the British in 1825 under the provisions of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 ending the Dutch rule in India. Fort Sadras (in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu) acted as headquarters of the Dutch Coromandel from 1818 to 1825. 

The VOC held some settlements on the Malabar Coast with headquarters at Cochin (modern Kochi in Kerala) between 1661 and 1795. Malabar was a Commandment of the VOC. The Dutch contributed a monumental work called ‘Hortus Indicus Malabaricus’ on the medicinal properties of Malabar plants. Bengal was a Directorate of VOC from 1610 to 1800 and a colony of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands till 1825. Suratte (modern Surat in Gujarat) was a Directorate of the VOC from 1616 to 1795. The Dutch ceded all their establishment on the Indian Peninsula to the British with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.

The diplomatic relations between India and the Netherlands were established after India’s independence from the British in 1947. Economic and commercial ties between India and the Netherlands are still an important facet of the overall Indo-Dutch relations. India’s economic interests in the Netherlands include technical cooperation as a partner in key areas such as water management, agriculture and food processing, health, environment, transport and logistics infrastructure, services sector, and science and technology.

(II) Bilateral Trade

The Netherlands is India’s 11th largest merchandise trading partner in the world and the largest in the European Union during F.Y. 2023-24. The total merchandise trade with the Netherlands stood at USD 27.333 billion (INR 226,360 crores) during the F.Y. 2023-2024, accounting for 2.45% of India’s total merchandise trade. India has a trade surplus of USD 17.40 billion (INR 144,160 crores) with the Netherlands. For the F.Y. 2024-25 (April-Nov), the Netherlands is India’s 9th largest merchandise trading partner with a total trade of USD 19.62 billion (INR 164,407 crores) and a trade surplus of USD 12.971 billion (INR 108,545 crores). 

The Netherlands is India’s largest merchandise export destination in Europe and third largest in the world (after USA & UAE). In the F.Y. 2023-2024, India exported USD 22.367 billion (INR 185,260 crores) worth of goods to the Netherlands. The merchandise exports to Netherlands accounts for 5.12% of India’s total merchandise exports. For F.Y. 2024-25 (Apr-Nov), Indian exports to the Netherlands amounted to USD 16.306 billion (INR 136,476 crores). The main items of Indian exports to the Netherlands include petroleum products, telecom instruments, drug formulations & biologicals, organic chemicals, RMG cotton including accessories, iron & steel, residual chemicals & allied products, electronic instruments, products of iron & steel, aluminium & products of aluminium. 

In the F.Y. 2023-2024, India imported USD 4.966 billion (INR 41,100 crores) worth of goods from the Netherlands. The merchandise imports from Netherlands accounts for 0.73% of India’s total merchandise imports. During the F.Y. 2024-25 (Apr-Nov), India imported from the Netherlands goods worth USD 3.335 billion (INR 27,931 crores). The main items of Indian imports from the Netherlands include electronic components, medical & scientific instruments, machinery for dairy, vegetable oils, electronic instruments, plastic raw materials, drug formulations & biologicals, organic chemicals, residual chemicals & allied products, iron & steel. 

Table 1: India-Netherlands Bilateral Trade

Sources: 

• Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

(https://ftddp.dgciskol.gov.in/dgcis/userindex.html#!/yearlytimeseries)

• Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

(https://tradestat.commerce.gov.in/eidb/default.asp)

(III) Bilateral Investment

There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India, including major players like Royal Philips, Signify, Akzo Nobel, Royal DSM, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Rabobank, Heineken, TomTom, Paques, Boskalis, Van Oord, Damen Shipyards, Vopak, Aegon, Koppert, Rijk Zwaan, etc. Similarly, there are over 300 Indian companies present in the Netherlands, including all the major IT companies such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, as well as Tata Steel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, LT Foods, Nature Bio Foods, Solis (Sonalika), Mittal Steel and United Phosphorus Limited (UPL). We also have the headquarters of the Indian PSU ‘ONGC Nile Ganga B.V.’ in the Netherlands.

Indian companies have made major acquisitions in the Netherlands like hotel company ‘OYO Hotels and Homes’ acquisition of Amsterdam-based vacation rental firm @Leisure Group in 2018, Tata Steel’s purchase of Anglo-Dutch ‘Corus’ in 2007, Ola Electric’s acquisition of Dutch electric scooter company ‘Etergo’ in 2020, Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Dutch tyre maker Vredestein Banden in 2009, Aspire Systems’ acquisition of Dutch-Polish software solutions firm Goyello in 2018, and the purchase of the Dutch company Dutch Vaccine Institute – NVI (Bilthoven Biologicals - BBio) by the Serum Institute of India in 2012.

The Netherlands is the fourth largest source of FDI into India (after Mauritius, Singapore & USA) with a cumulative FDI equity inflow of USD 52.263 billion (INR 3,54,086 crores) from April 2000 to September 2024, accounting for 7.37% of the total FDI equity inflow into India.  The FDI equity inflows from the Netherlands during the F.Y. 2023-2024 amounted to USD 4.924 billion (INR 40,733 crores) and during the F.Y. 2024-2025 (April-Sept.) amounted to USD 3.580 billion (INR 29,905 crores). 

Table 2: FDI Equity Inflows to India from the Netherlands

Source: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India 

(https://dpiit.gov.in/publications/fdi-statistics)

The highest FDI equity inflow to India from the Netherlands has been in the ‘Services Sector’ followed by ‘Computer Software & Hardware’ and ‘Metallurgical Industries’ sectors. The State of Maharashtra received the highest equity FDI from the Netherlands, followed by Jharkhand, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat. These five States account for 86.25% of the total equity FDI received from the Netherlands. 

During the period April 2000 till October 2024, the Netherlands is the fourth largest destination (after Singapore, Mauritius & USA) of foreign investment (Overseas Direct Investments - ODI) by Indian companies with a cumulative ODI outflows of USD 25.853 billion accounting for 8% of total overseas investments. In F.Y. 2023-2024, the Netherlands was the fifth largest destination (after Singapore, USA, UK & UAE) for ODI from India with investments of USD 1,107 million. In F.Y. 2024-2025 (Apr-Oct), the Netherlands is the fourth largest destination (after Singapore, USA & UAE) for ODI from India with investments of USD 845 million.

Table 3: ODI Outflows from India to the Netherlands

Source: Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India 

(https://dea.gov.in/overseas-direct-investment) 

and 

Reserve Bank of India 

(https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/Data_Overseas_Investment.aspx)

In the Netherlands, the sectors of ‘Financial, Insurance and Business Services’, ‘Agriculture and Mining’, ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Wholesale, Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels’ attract the maximum ODI from India. 

(IV) Recent High Level Visits to Promote Trade and Investment

In 2017, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited the Netherlands marking the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and the Netherlands. A high-level CEOs roundtable also took place during the visit. 

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte along with a high-level delegation visited India from May 24-25, 2018 and was accompanied by over 130 Dutch companies/institutions and nearly 200 trade representatives.

The Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited India as state guests from 14-18 October 2019 and were accompanied by the largest ever Dutch trade delegation to India comprising over 140 Dutch companies/institutions and nearly 250 business representatives. The focus areas of the delegation were the water sector, agri-food, healthcare, technology and maritime sector. The delegation visited New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kochi. Stef Blok (Dutch Foreign Minister), Sigrid Kaag (Minister for Foreign Trade and Development), Bruno Bruins (Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport) and Mona Keijzer (State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) accompanied the delegation along with Ineke Dezentje Hamming-Bluemink, Chairman of FME, the largest industrial employers and business organization in the Netherlands. 51 MoUs and agreements were signed between Dutch and Indian partners during the visit. 

The Netherlands was India’s partner country for the Technology Summit at New Delhi which took place from 15-16 October 2019.

From 8-12 February 2021, a Dutch virtual trade mission to India took place led by Sigrid Kaag, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development. The three focus areas of the trade delegation included Water, Food waste and energy.

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind paid a State Visit to the Netherlands from 4-7 April 2022. The President welcomed Dutch start-ups and SMEs working in geospatial mapping, Artificial Intelligence, clean energy, assistive technology, and biomedical devices to ‘Make in India’ and innovate in India. Other announcements during the visit include extension of MoU on bilateral cooperation in the field of Ports, Maritime Transport, and Logistics; and the extension of the Programme of Cooperation between Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Government of the Netherlands.

The Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya led a delegation to the Netherlands from 15-17 December 2022. The Minister for Information Technology & Electronics of UP Yogendra Upadhyay was also a part of the delegation. The delegation visited several Dutch companies. The delegation held G2B meetings with CEOs/CXOs of several Dutch companies. A Conference on ‘Investment Opportunities in Uttar Pradesh’ took place during the visit, in which around 70 representatives from both Dutch and Indian companies participated. 

The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher participated in the Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting at Jaipur on 24-25 August 2023 that was organized under India’s G20 Presidency. In the Meeting, she stressed the need to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte led the Netherlands Trade Mission to Bengaluru from 10-14 September 2023. The trade mission followed the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi from 9-10 September 2023. Around 90 representatives from over 60 Dutch companies were part of the trade mission representing the sectors of key enabling technologies, medical technologies and sustainable food systems. Around 27 MoUs were signed by Dutch and Indian stakeholders to reinforce the partnerships in semiconductors, cloud computing, sustainable agriculture, research and development in greenhouses, crop varieties, and technology development for the affordable healthcare sector. 

The Hague 

21.03.2025