Dutch companies bought in commercial services from abroad worth €16bn in the first quarter of 2018, a 54% increase over the first three months of 2014, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

Most foreign services were largely in the fields of advertising, market research and consultancy, the CBS said.

Commercial services from other European countries showed the highest growth rate as imports rose to € 10.5bn in the first quarter, up from €7bn five years ago.

Britain is the largest supplier of commercial services to companies in the Netherlands, followed by Germany and Ireland.