To produce output, input is often required. These imports can also be split between the supplier industry. For example, a table for export of a table can be imported (then it can fall under re-export), or table legs and table top can be imported and screwed together by a Dutch manufacturer, or the wood is imported and the rest of the production process takes place in the Netherlands. These different input products (table, table parts, wood) can be imported by different industries. In this way, the imports required for export can also be divided by the supplier industry.
In this article we discuss earnings, imports and employment related to exports of a particular industry through several examples. First, we discuss a process that leads to the export of veal, we will leave out the numbers here. We then discuss paper industry exports from a portion of the StatLine table. Finally, we provide an example of an analysis that can be done using this StatLine table.
Example: export of veal
A whole process usually takes place before the export of a particular product. This process can take place both in the Netherlands and abroad. We will discuss such a process using an example.
Dutch wholesalers export veal, for example. Veal is meat from (beef) calves that have lived for a maximum of 8 months (or 12 months for pink veal). During these 8 months, there are different sectors that profit from this calf, and when the veal is finally exported, these revenues are allocated to the export. If the wholesaler realizes this export, then this is earnings from the export of the exporting wholesale industry.
Step 1
The calf was born on a Dutch dairy cow, if the calf is male, the dairy would like to sell the calf. The calf is sold to a calf farm that serves the dairy farm and perhaps also a cattle carrier.
Step 2
The calf is cared for in the calf farm. In the first months or even the whole 8 months, it gets milk (often made from milk powder) in addition to solid food. This calf farm does not produce the food itself, so other sectors make money from this, for example the dairy farm for the milk powder. Imported soybeans are often used as solid feed for cattle. An animal feed manufacturer will then use imported soy and produce animal feed and sell it to the calf farm. Calf farming also uses water and energy. In addition, the Quality Guarantee Fund for the Veal sector will carry out inspections (this falls under sector 71 supervision and inspection).
Step 3
When the calf is eight months old, it goes to a slaughterhouse. An employment agency provides workers for the slaughterhouse. The calf must also be transported to the slaughterhouse. And also in this step there will be quality checks.
Step 4
Then the meat must be packed, which serves the packaging industry. Finally, the wholesaler exports the meat. This can be a service from an external transport company if the wholesaler does not have its own transport options. If it is a foreign transport company, the transport costs are considered as imported services for exporting the veal.
This example shows that many different industries can profit from exporting a particular product from a particular industry. The income from the calf piece is therefore distributed among many different players. In addition, employment is created in almost all of these different sectors. Employment is measured in the total number of years of work in the supplier sector for the exports of the exporting sector. In addition to animal feed ingredients (such as soya), the imports required to export veal may also include e.g. petrol for transporting the animals.
Example: exports from the paper industry
The paper industry’s distribution of the added value of exports can be seen in the StatLine table. The paper industry exports products such as paper, cardboard, pulp and cigarette rolling paper. The table below shows the five sectors that benefited the most from paper industry exports in 2021. The majority of value added and employment from paper industry exports remains within its own sector. The wholesaler also made money from these exports, for example by providing packaging materials for the export of the paper. These packaging materials come from the Netherlands or have been imported, so the wholesaler may also have import costs in connection with exports from the paper industry. Wholesale jobs are also involved in the export of the paper industry, such as unpacking packaging materials, delivering the product or overhead. The third largest supplier sector (in terms of value added) provides services: legal advice and management consultancy. Followed by staffing agencies and job placement, this is an industry that profits from the exports of almost all industries. Logically, the chemical industry also made money from exports from the paper industry, which supplies goods such as bleach and ink to the paper industry.
| Supply sector | Added value | Employment opportunities | Input |
|---|---|---|---|
| million euros | dzd fte | million euros | |
| The paper industry | 1660.9 | 11.5 | 1878.5 |
| Wholesale and trade brokerage | 269.0 | 1.7 | 50.7 |
| Legal and managerial advice | 146.3 | 1.4 | 51.4 |
| Employment agency and job agency | 68.4 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Chemical industry | 58.9 | 0.2 | 105.4 |
| Property letting and trading | 47.6 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
An export sector never actually works alone, the sector uses many other domestic sectors and often also imports of for example semi-finished products to produce export products as efficiently as possible. So it goes without saying that many other sectors will also contribute and profit a little from this sector’s exports.
Which industry maintains the largest export earnings for itself?
The StatLine table can be used to examine which sector retains the most value added through its own exports. For this purpose, the surplus value obtained by all Dutch industries together thanks to the exporting industry is first determined (total surplus value in the table below). The share is calculated by dividing the added value remaining in the exporting industry by the total. Moreover, there is no industry where more added value goes to another industry than to its own industry. However, there are sectors where less than half of the added value is generated in their own industry, as can be seen in the table below. These are mainly sectors that are heavily dependent on imports, such as the food industry and the oil industry.
| Added value in your own industry | Total added value | Share in own sector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| million euros | million euros | % | |
| Employment agency and job agency | 230.9 | 253.9 | 91 |
| the tobacco industry | 2602.1 | 3062.7 | 85 |
| Care and well-being | 12.2 | 14.5 | 84 |
| Wholesale and trade brokerage | 38469 | 51639.9 | 74 |
| Machine industry | 12401.4 | 18145.9 | 68 |
| Legal and managerial advice | 11316.2 | 17193.4 | 66 |
| Chemical industry | 11614.9 | 18493.5 | 63 |
| Food industry | 8222.6 | 19254.7 | 43 |
| General construction and project development | 136.4 | 341.4 | 40 |
| The petroleum industry | 928.9 | 2547.5 | 36 |
| Other transport equipment industry | 1183.9 | 3313.3 | 36 |
Table 2: The three industries with the highest share of own sector export value added, the five industries with the highest own sector export value added and the three industries with the lowest share.
Definitions
Supply industry
The industry that supplies goods or services to the exporting industry.
Exporting industry
The industry that supplies the goods or services to a foreign country. For goods, it is the last industry that owns the goods.
Earnings.
This is the export value minus the value of the imports that were needed throughout the Dutch production chain to produce this export, also called surplus value. In the table, the value added as a result of the exports from the exporting industry is distributed among all industries that contribute to these exports.
Work volume.
The total number of years of work (in the supplier industry) for the exports of the exporting industry.