More than 26% of the Dutch exports last year were due to independent small businesses, the Dutch statistics bureau CBS said earlier this week. CBS noted that most of these goods were produced in the Netherlands.

The export figure for the small business sector rose to 36% of the total when companies which are smaller units of large concerns are included. But that is largely due to the re-export of goods produced outside the Netherlands, the CBS said.

Exports by independent small businesses were worth €80b in 2015, with nearly 75% consisting of Dutch-produced goods.

The number of exporting start-ups in the independent small business sector has increased significantly in recent years. In 2014 more than 11,000 companies began exporting. Between 2011 and 2013 the number of new exporting firms was only 5,000 to 6,000 a year.

But the start-ups were mostly small exporters: more than 45% has exports worth below €5,000 a year, CBS said.