ARTICLE: Roots and dynamics of Dutch foreign plant-oil demands 1920–2020

Dutch harbours became key notes in European foreign fat supply in the twentieth century. These imports of oils and fats have had significant economic, social and environmental impacts worldwide. Demand for these resources was driven by food industries, intensive livestock farming and fossil fuel mitigation, and linked domestic practices to global supply chains. This paper investigates the development of Dutch imports of oils and fats over the past century. It examines (1) the scale and geographical distribution of these resources, analysing growth, decline and spatial shifts in supply; and (2) the dependencies between the Netherlands and supplying regions. The study further explores the developments in technology, governance and knowledge that shaped these developments. The article thus highlights the bittersweet global consequences of Dutch reliance on imported oils and fats.

This article was published open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Below: Interactive Dashboard Historical Trade Data Dutch Imports Vegetable Oils & Fats 1910-2023, online data visualization companion to this article)