This article covers trade and investment between India and the Netherlands: merchandise trade figures, the goods India exports, investment in both directions, the companies and business chambers active in each country, recent ministerial contacts on trade and technology, and cooperation on ports and shipping. It is based on the MEA brief of May 2026, and figures are given as of that brief.
Trade figures
According to the MEA brief of May 2026, trade and commercial relations form the backbone of the relationship between India and the Netherlands. The brief states that the Netherlands is India's 11th largest trading partner in the world. It is also India's 3rd largest export destination for goods globally and the largest in Europe.
The brief gives the following figures for the F.Y. 2024-2025:
- total merchandise trade with the Netherlands: USD 27.8 billion
- share of India's total merchandise trade: 2.40%
- Indian exports of goods to the Netherlands: USD 22.7 billion (INR 192,118 crores)
India's main exports to the Netherlands
The brief lists the main items of Indian exports to the Netherlands as:
- petroleum products
- engineering goods
- organic and inorganic chemicals
- telecom instruments and electronic goods
- drugs and pharmaceuticals
- readymade garments of all textiles
- leather and leather manufactures
- fruits and vegetables
- plastic and linoleum
- marine products
- spices, rice, tea, coffee, tobacco, oilseeds, oil meals and cereal preparations
- handicrafts, carpet and jute
- iron ore
- gems and jewellery
- ceramic products and glassware
Investment in both directions
As of the brief, the Netherlands is the fourth largest investor in India, with cumulative Dutch investments in India from 2000 onwards of around USD 55 billion.
Indian companies have also invested in the Netherlands, with total investments of around USD 28 billion. The brief states that the Netherlands is now the 4th largest destination for Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) by Indian companies.
Companies and business chambers
There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India. The brief names major players including Philips, Signify, Akzo Nobel, DSM, KLM, Rabobank, Heineken, TomTom, Paques, Boskalis, Van Oord, Damen Shipyards, Vopak and Aegon.
Similarly, there are over 300 Indian companies present in the Netherlands. They include all the major IT companies, such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra, as well as Tata Steel.
Organisations active in promoting India-Netherlands trade and investment include the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT) and the Indian Business Chamber (IBC).
Ministerial contacts on trade and technology
Commerce & Industries Minister Shri Piyush Goyal met the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Aid, Mr. Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, on the sidelines of the 14th WTO Ministerial in Cameroon in March 2026.
MeitY Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Netherlands in January 2026 and held a meeting with the then Minister of Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans.
Ports, shipping and inland waterways
India and the Netherlands signed an MoU in the fields of Ports and Maritime Transport and Logistics in 2008. The MoU has been extended since then, most recently in October 2025, and has a special focus on research and development, shipbuilding, innovation and sustainability.
The 2nd meeting of the JWG on Maritime Cooperation took place in India in October 2025. In the same month, a Letter of Intent was signed on the establishment of a Green and Digital Sea Corridor connecting Indian ports with the Port of Rotterdam. Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman visited India in October 2025 to attend the India Maritime Week.
The maritime sector was one of the focus areas for the Dutch trade delegation that accompanied the King and Queen of the Netherlands on their State Visit to India in 2019.