The economy in Brabant is more vulnerable to the coronavirus than average, according to Rabobank’s survey. This is the first study measuring the economic consequence of the crisis per province.
Rabobank expects the Dutch economy to shrink by five per cent this year. For Brabant, this number’s six per cent. With these numbers, the bank is assuming the lockdown will end on 1 June. When the last economic slump hit in 2009, there was a decline of more than 3.5%.
The Brabant region will suffer more economically as more local companies are being hard hit by the corona crisis. Rabobank’s economist, Otto Raspe, mentions examples such as the chemical industry (e.g. Shell Moerdijk) in West Brabant, the high-tech and manufacturing industry (e.g. DAF, VDL) in East Brabant, and the agri-food industry throughout the province.
Brabant region contributes approximately 15% to the entire Dutch economy. So, Brabant’s contribution was around €116 billion of the national €774 billion in 2018.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Shufei
