The project "The greenhouses of Hauts de France", launched last year by the Belgian cooperative REO Veiling, in Arques, northern France, has begun to bear fruit. Last week, the first tomatoes of this greenhouse, which has an area of 9 hectares and plans to produce 6,000 tonnes a year, hit the market. The project counts with the collaboration of the French company Fruidor and more joint projects are expected in the region.
As reported by the website of the REO Veiling cooperative, the construction of this greenhouse has cost 16 million Euro, according to the Vandevelde brothers, children and grandchildren of tomato producers in the region of West Flanders, who have launched this operation. "A lease has been signed between the company des Jardins des Hauts-de-France (in which REO Veiling has a majority stake) and the two producers who will become owners of the facilities after 30 years, according to explanations from the president of REO Veilign, published by the magazine "Fruits et Légumes".
Reo Veiling, based in Roulers, Belgium, claims that this investment in France is due to its interest in developing greenhouse cultivation and the lack of available space in its own country. He stresses that the Arques area already has 90 hectares reserved for greenhouse horticulture, with the benefit of the proximity between the two countries. He also explains that the growing population and "the reduction of the horticultural acreage in France" offer an opportunity for the cooperative. The tomatoes will be marketed under the brand "The New Producers from the North"; a brand linked to REO Veiling and Fruidor.
New joint projects involving French and Belgian producers are expected to be launched to facilitate the production and marketing of tomatoes, strawberries and turnips, among other crops.
For its part, FEPEX highlights not just the strong investment required for such a project (16 million Euro), but also the expected high productivity (66.6 kilos of tomatoes per square metre). It is a sign of the growing competitiveness of the high-tech greenhouse sector in Europe.
Source: fepex.es