Dutch eggplant grower invests in new acreage to counter competition from Spain

Last year, the eggplant acreage in the Netherlands shrank slightly, resulting in some space in the eggplant market. The Dutch van Duijn brothers have space for expansion. Currently, their greenhouse in Oosterland is being expanded with 2.8 hectares. "It will be a modern greenhouse that meets all the latest sustainability standards, which we consider important," says Pleun van Duijn.

The site in Oosterland has been in possession of the company for some years. Yet two years ago the decision was made to expand their other greenhouse first. Due to the option to use residual heat and CO2 at this location, this was chosen first. 

Now construction in Oosterland has also started: the site has been pegged and the first excavators are in operation. In December the plants have to placed inside the greenhouse, so that from next season the first eggplants can be harvested in the brand new greenhouse. With the expansion, the greenhouse in Oosterland grows to 6.5 hectares, and the total acreage of Purple Pride amounts to 40 hectares.

During the making of the building plans, it became clear greenhouse builders are now more busy than a year ago. "We had to start on time, otherwise we would have to postpone the construction by a year," says Pleun van Duijn. "That has not always been the case." 

This time Havecon has been commissioned to build the greenhouse. On the roof they will place clear glass. "Beside the fact that the greenhouse meets all the modern standards, we also will invest heavily in automation, which means that we can sort and palletize even more efficiently. This means less handling and we can better respond to individual customer needs, something that is very important for Purple Pride", according to Pleun van Duijn.

Because of the expansion of Gebroeders van Duijn, the eggplant market is growing again this year by over 3%. "2.8 hectares may not sound a lot, but it is sufficient for the market. In recent years we see that eggplant consumption is increasing by an average of 3% each year, and we can respond to this with the extra greenhouse. We would like to build now because Spanish competition will soon take over the market if we don’t exert counter pressure."