The team of BVB and Dutch Greenery at the Horti Asia in Bangkok last month.
Damsteegt's company has been active in Thai horticulture for almost twenty years. From their warehouses in Pak Chong, they are distributing seeds ,substrates, growing systems and tropical greenhouse structures throughout the country. "The industry is still modest, but we definitely see that there is more interest in greenhouse technology. Last year was our busiest year so far."
Dutch Greenery offers several kind of greenhouse designs, each one of them adapted to the specific local tropical climate, situation and purpose. 1: An Evap greenhouse build for one of their customers in Chiang Mai. 2: An Umbrella Vent greenhouse for hydroponic production. 3: A Sawtooth greenhouse for tomato production.
The Dutchman believes that this is a result of a snowball effect. After the introduction of the first systems, other farmers and growers saw the opportunities of the technology and became interested. As more people became aware of it, the interest increased. "Since we are around in this market for quite a while now, we have gained a lot of experience and know how of the market. This gave us a step ahead and allows us to serve the market very well."
Damsteegt explained that this is why he is one of the few local suppliers of greenhouse technology that can realize projects in a very efficient way. "We have a lot of experience and now have five crews working at projects all across Thailand, but also in nearby countries like the Philippines or Myanmar. Most of the greenhouses are destined for the production of leafy greens and fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Others are used to grow pot plants, and some of them are even used as a storage facility."
The warehouses of Dutch Greenery in Pak Chong
In Thailand, especially the production of lettuce is a growing market. "We introduced the BVB Sublime foam substrate a couple of years ago. Whit this substrate we have set an important trend for the hydroponic production of lettuce in Thailand. Farmers appreciate the user-friendliness, convenience and cleanliness of the substrate. Their crops root very fast and it requires a little less know-how to achieve high quality produce."
Damsteegt's Thai customers are pleased with the firmness, weight and quality of their lettuce crops grown in Sublime foam on NFT systems. The right picture of the tomato trial was taken this week inside Dutch Greenery's own demo greenhouses.
Next to this Damsteegt sees opportunities with new crops like greenhouse melons. He works closely with seed breeder Rijk Zwaan to develop new varieties. "The expectations of this market are high, it provides many chances when you varieties available that are tailored to the Asian market. Just like with the greenhouse structures, it requires a lot of experience of local situations in order deliver a successful solution. You can not simply just sell a variety or greenhouse structure if you do not know how to build or grow it in a local situation. But slowly, thanks to our experience, the Thai industry is taking off."
Damsteegt's kids between the melon trials in their demo greenhouse.
For more information:
Dutch GreeneryWim Damsteegt
dutchgreenery@gmail.com
www.dutchgreenery.com