The strong links between the UK and The Netherlands – including a shared Anglo-Saxon heritage in many parts of both countries – have helped to develop trade relations. Many Dutch companies successfully export to the UK.

The UK is one of the world’s top ten economies and the second largest in Europe (after Germany). The country has a population of more than 60 million people.

Construction
Total UK construction output, including both new construction and repairs & maintenance work, reached an estimated €125 billion in 2008, growing by about 2 per cent over the year. In previous years growth has been between 5 and 12 per cent.

Despite the economic conditions affecting the construction industry, major projects continue to take place.

Building work for the Olympics, which take place in London (Londen) in 2012, is one of the largest construction projects in the world and is estimated to cost around €5 billion. It is being led by the Olympic Development Authority

The €9 billion Thames Gateway is the United Kingdom's largest regeneration area. Across East London (Londen), South Essex and North Kent work is underway to attract investment, build infrastructure and to strengthen and develop communities. More than 160,000 new homes are to be built on sites across the area as part of one of Europe’s largest building projects.

These massive construction projects create opportunities for Dutch companies to export construction-related products and services to the UK. Good PR and marketing can help to give access to London Olympic and Thames Gateway contracts

Technology and engineering
According to trade body EEF manufacturing accounts for about 14 per cent of UK economic output and employs 2.8 million people – about 10 per cent of the total workforce.

The EEF estimates total annual investment by UK manufacturers amounts to around €15 billion per year. This opens many opportunities for Dutch companies seeking to export engineering products and services to the UK.

Environment and waste management
According to a report produced for the UK government the UK environmental industry is well established, vibrant and diverse. It has an annual turnover of around €25 billion (which the report estimates will increase to €46 billion by 2015) and employs approximately 400,000 people in 17,000 companies.

Nationally, the water/wastewater treatment and waste management sub-sectors are by far the largest parts of the environmental goods and services market, representing 39 per cent and 34 per cent of the industry respectively. Other fields where the UK has a strong international reputation include noise abatement technologies, hydro power, metal recycling, energy management and marine pollution control.

Dutch companies active in these fields can create opportunities to export products and services to the UK.

Food
Food is a largely recession-proof area of the economy. A report by the Food & Drink Federation showed that spending on food and drink by UK consumers is nearly €175 billion, 20 per cent of total UK consumer expenditure.

Year on year UK consumer expenditure on food has been increasing across all sectors. Consumers appear to spend most on fruit, vegetables, meat and meat products.

The food sector experiencing the largest growth in consumer expenditure is fruit and vegetables.

The Food & Drink Federation believes that the increasing variety of fruit available in supermarkets and the year-round availability is likely to result in a continuing increase in the consumption of fresh fruit. Consumption of fresh green vegetables, whilst increasing, is growing at a much slower rate than fruit. Consumption of fresh potatoes is likely to continue to decline as people change to pasta and rice as an alternative.

There are great opportunities for Dutch companies to export food to the UK.