Samenvatting

According to the Dutch parliament, Holland is still recovering from the Euro crisis. The Euro crisis starts with the malfunctioning tax system of Greece and the consequences are felt throughout the whole of Europe. It is a very difficult time for companies and especially for exporting companies. However, export numbers of 2011 published by the Central Bureau of Statistics show an increase in the exporting figures. The same Bureau also published that export to traditional markets (Euro countries) is decreasing and export to non-traditional markets (emerging economies) is increasing.
This is partly the result of a government campaign that stimulates medium sized Dutch companies to explore the new emerging markets like the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), Eastern Europe and Turkey. These could be very lucrative markets for Dutch entrepreneurs if they take the chance to familiarize themselves with these markets. However, Dutch companies are still hesitant to explore these markets, mostly due to the lack of accurate information and huge differences in culture. A research done by ING, a prominent Dutch bank, suggests that Dutch companies are wasting 4 billion worth of trade with Turkey because of this.
Another emerging market that is very interesting for export is Morocco. Hence the research question of this report: What export opportunities awaits Dutch mid-sized tractor companies, such as Van Engelen, in Morocco? This country has known economic growth for the last several years; it is also politically stable and well organized. This stems from the fact that Morocco is one of the few countries that handled the Arab Spring very well. Furthermore, the country has a long history of trade with Holland and the EU. An interesting market with many opportunities is the Moroccan agricultural market. It consists of almost 40% of the workforce. Lately, the Moroccan government has invested heavily in the agricultural sector. This means educating the farmers to abandon the traditional method and adapting technology instead. The government has also renewed the irrigation system, which led to more land for cultivating and farming. The government is also actively stimulating the usage of advanced agricultural machinery such as tractors.
Herein are huge opportunities for Dutch medium sized companies that are in the tractor trade sector. According to another research conducted by ING bank, the tractor market is recovering from turbulent years (give numbers) now. Exploring a new market such as Morocco can be very lucrative.
Van Engelen is a family owned business that exists for over 30 years. The company is acquainted with exporting to emerging markets such as Eastern Europe. Furthermore, they have the perfect tractors to export to Morocco, namely the T-series (created by New Holland). They are state-of-the-art and have the latest technology including GPS; they have more power than other tractors, have a low fuel usage and are environment friendly. Van Engelen can do the distribution of its product via several ways, public or private. There are good programs from the EU and the Dutch government that can assist the export with grants and funds. However, it is strongly advised to not let government funds play a big role in the export budget.
After considering several transportation methods, the best way to transport the tractors to their final destination in Morocco is by sea. The different incoterms that can be used are to be agreed on by the parties involved. The most important ones are listed in this report. After doing intensive research on the Moroccan agricultural sector, culture and export possibilities by using different methods such as desk research (internal analyses, external analyses, DESTEP, Portal model, SWOT analyses, marketing mix, etc..), field research (interview, survey) and analysing the opportunities and threats provided by this sector, the answer is very clear. Exporting tractors to Morocco could be a very lucrative business for Van Engelen.