Agents in the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Filed accounts
NACE 46170 · financial year 2025 · 656 filed annual accounts| Per financial year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median solvency | 31.9% | 32.2% | 33.9% | 35.3% | 36.0% | 35.2% |
| Median net result | €11,414 | €11,102 | €10,104 | €9,756 | €11,473 | €9,856 |
Hold your customer's or competitor's figures against them in the Sector benchmark
Bankruptcies
Recent bankruptcies
| Date | Company |
|---|---|
| 02-10-2026 | GLOBAL BEVERAGE
BE 0524.675.968 |
| 28-09-2026 | LUPUS SPORTMANAGEMENT
BE 0686.978.447 |
| 16-09-2026 | A.R.E. TECHNOLOGY
BE 0689.619.322 |
| 07-09-2026 | Hoge Zwaluw
BE 0764.630.907 |
| 02-09-2026 | HYUNDAI MULTICAV
BE 0864.466.077 |
| 17-08-2026 | CANDIFRAIS
BE 0645.839.559 |
| 29-07-2026 | LA FROMAGERIE
BE 0737.687.176 |
| 20-07-2026 | SMULTRON
BE 0629.836.638 |
Spread across the country
by region and province · 961 of 1,597 enterprises with a registered office on file · a sole trader has no published seat- Flanders
- Wallonia
- Brussels
- Abroad
The balance sheets of division 46 on the map, by municipality and down to the address
Largest employers
NACE 46170 as first main activity · staff from the latest accounts- 1 Jumbo BelgiëBrasschaat 370 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 2 UNILEVER BELGIUMAnderlecht 256 FTEfinancial year 2024
- 3 Lotus Bakeries CorporateKaprijke 173 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 4 BACARDI - MARTINI BELGIUMVilvoorde 66.4 FTEfinancial year 2026
- 5 BIDFOOD FLANDERSBeveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht 57.2 FTEfinancial year 2025
Joint committees
from the latest accounts of 169 companies- 200 Auxiliary committee for white-collar workers 78
- 201 Independent retail 35
- 119 Food trade 31
- 220 White-collar workers in the food industry 12
- 226 White-collar workers in international trade, transport and logistics 12
- 302 Hotels and catering 10
- 100 Auxiliary committee for blue-collar workers 9
- 118 Food industry 8
Show the 12 others
- 207 White-collar workers in the chemical industry 3
- 145 Horticulture 2
- 202 White-collar workers in food retail 2
- 323 Building management, estate agents and domestic staff 2
- 109 Clothing and garment industry 1
- 112 Garages 1
- 116 Chemical industry 1
- 124 Construction 1
- 125.03 Timber trade 1
- 140.03 Road transport and logistics for third parties 1
- 215 White-collar workers in the clothing and garment industry 1
- 224 White-collar workers in non-ferrous metals 1
Source: the annual accounts at the National Bank. One filing can name more than one committee.
Division 46: Wholesale trade
Related activities
8 other activities| Activity | Registrations | Starters, 12 months | Bankruptcies, 12 months | FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agents in non-specialised wholesale trade46190 | 5,959 | 318 | 55 | 2,247 |
| Agents specialised in the wholesale of other particular products46180 | 4,299 | 232 | 39 | 2,673 |
| Agents in the wholesale of furniture, household goods and hardware46150 | 1,697 | 46 | 17 | 942 |
| Agents in the wholesale of textiles, clothing, fur, footwear and leather goods46160 | 1,249 | 43 | 9 | 808 |
| Agents in the wholesale of timber and building materials46130 | 1,109 | 47 | 9 | 760 |
| Agents in the wholesale of industrial machinery, ships and aircraft46140 | 1,058 | 51 | 8 | 1,406 |
Show all 8 activities
| Activity | Registrations | Starters, 12 months | Bankruptcies, 12 months | FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale trade46120 | 523 | 17 | 2 | 1,206 |
| Wholesale trade46110 | 404 | 21 | 2 | 143 |
Bankruptcies per year in division 46
| Per year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankruptcies | 803 | 710 | 738 | 687 | 722 | 486 | 417 | 583 | 541 | 625 | 634 | 425 |
| Jobs lost | 1,629 | 1,655 | 1,361 | 1,216 | 1,240 | 1,054 | 890 | 1,029 | 935 | 1,383 | 1,271 | 931 |
2026 through September. Every bankruptcy, also of companies that have since left the register. Source: Statbel (Directorate-General Statistics), NACE classification of 2008.
Staff cost per FTE in NACE division 46
9,639 employers| Size | Median | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| fewer than 10 FTE | €60,500 | €47,700 to €78,600 | 6,072 |
| 10 to 49 FTE | €70,000 | €57,700 to €89,100 | 2,910 |
| 50 to 249 FTE | €84,000 | €67,400 to €119,200 | 558 |
| 250 FTE or more | €80,100 | €64,800 to €98,300 | 99 |
Employers with the highest staff cost per FTE in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench
Running bankruptcies in the sector
NACE division 46Measured nationally: Of 108,562 bankruptcies of legal entities across Belgium, 49% were closed within five years for insufficient assets and 28% after liquidation, 3% were withdrawn. After five years, 20% were still open. Half had ended after 26 months (a quarter after 15, three quarters after 51 months).
This counts companies with this main activity in the register on 6 November 2026. The outcome itself is not measured by sector. The activity of a company that leaves the register after its bankruptcy is too often not kept to compare closed cases fairly.
Foreign control in NACE division 46
45,472 registered companiesMain parent countries: Netherlands (206), Germany (128) and France (118).Show on the map by municipality
Subsidies in this sector
per register · legal entities with an enterprise number- Flemish subsidies €266.7m awarded
- Federal transfers 21.5m amount as published
- Wallonia-Brussels Federation €1.3m paid
- EU budget €531.5m attributed share
- EU research €52.9m EU contribution
Insights on Agents in the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Balance sheet and result. 18.0% of the annual accounts show negative equity, against 12.4% in Belgium. The median net result of €9,856 is below Belgium's €16,520. Solvency of 35.2% is below Belgium's 46.1%.
Bankruptcies. In 12 months, 12.5 of 1,000 companies went bankrupt, against 6.2 in Belgium. That is more than in 93% of the 88 NACE divisions. The median bankruptcy probability of 0.5% is above Belgium's 0.2%.
Inflow and structure. In 12 months, 5.1 of 100 companies started, against 8.9 in Belgium. That is fewer than in 68% of the 87 NACE divisions. Half of the companies are younger than 9.3 years, against 8.1 years in Belgium. This activity holds 2.6% of the registrations of Wholesale trade.
Staff and filing. 42.6% of the financial year 2024 accounts were filed late, against 38.4% in Belgium. The 5 largest employers hold 922 of the 1,779 FTE: 51.8%.
Direction. Median solvency rose from 31.9% in financial year 2020 to 35.2% in financial year 2025. The median net result fell from €11,414 in financial year 2020 to €9,856 in financial year 2025.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other divisions is as of 06-11-2026 05:30.
Method and sources
Every company registered today counts under its main activities in the KBO. Establishment units do not count. Staff counts once, under the employer's first main activity, from its latest accounts and only where it fits the staff costs. The count follows the NACE 2025 classification, the version in which code 46170 exists.
The bankruptcies over five years count only companies still registered today, because the activity of a company that left the register is not kept. So they are fewer than the bankruptcies of those years, and the figure is not a probability for the future. Over twelve months the count is nearly complete, because a bankrupt company stays registered while its bankruptcy runs. A company with more than one main activity counts in each of those sectors.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other NACE divisions rests on an overview of every division, counted again each night. Each division is counted in the version of the NACE classification in which it exists. A standing such as "more than in 80%" compares with the other divisions that have the figure. A division's bankruptcy probability is the median over its companies with a score. Belgium here counts the 1,276,581 companies with a main activity, because only those belong to a division. The other 698,987 registrations publish no activity.
Each median is the value of the middle company, computed over the annual accounts of financial year 2025, and is shown only from 30 accounts. A share (loss-making, negative equity) counts that year's accounts with that trait. Accounts are late when they are filed after the statutory deadline. The direction per financial year follows the companies still registered today. Missing or 90 days late counts the companies with accounts missing today, or whose latest were filed more than 90 days after the deadline. The dossier follows the same rule.