According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the country’s gross yield of greenhouse vegetables fell by 7.9 per cent to 1.8 million tonnes in 2022, compared to the previous year. Gross yields of tomatoes fell 12.5 per cent and cucumbers dropped 9.1 per cent over the year. Almost all greenhouse vegetable crops declined with the exception of egg plant (aubergine) which rose slightly.
The fall in production has been attributed to a combination of declining area and lower yield per ha, both of which were blamed on the impact of high energy prices on grower’s decision making.
The gross yield of tomatoes in 2022 fell by 110 million kilograms to 770 million kilograms compared to a year ago. The gross yield of cucumbers last year amounted to 400 million kilograms, 40 million kilograms less than in 2021. Due to the high energy prices, the cultivation of these crops started later and ended earlier. However, high energy prices had less impact on aubergines and peppers because they can be grown more easily in an energy-efficient way in winter.
The hectare yield of tomatoes fell by 11.0 percent in the last year, while the yield of cucumbers decreased by 7.3 percent.
The total area under cultivation of greenhouse vegetables in 2022 was around 5,000 ha, nearly the same as the previous year. 36.5 per cent of this area was used for tomato cultivation with 33.1 per cent for bell peppers. At 2.7 per cent, eggplants occupied much less of that space.
On 1 April 2022, there were 1,160 greenhouse vegetable companies in the Netherlands, 6.4 per cent fewer than one year previously. Compared to ten years earlier, the number of companies decreased by 433, a decrease of 27.2 per cent. In particular, the number of companies active in the cultivation of tomatoes has decreased more than other crops.