Gas Crisis Hits Food as Giant Dutch Greenhouses Go Dark
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Skyrocketing power prices are forcing the vast network of Dutch glasshouses -- the continent’s biggest -- to go dark or scale back, threatening to cut supplies at Europe’s fruit and vegetable stalls and flower shops.
Although small, the Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of food by value, thanks in part to its high-yielding glasshouses that span some 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) -- about the size of Paris. They grow vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers and flowers including orchids, tulips and chrysanthemums -- making the country one of Europe’s key suppliers of fresh produce and a huge hub for the floral trade. In 2020, Dutch exports of greenhouse produce amounted to 9.2 billion euros ($10.7 billion).