According to new figures from Statistics Netherlands, the decline of the Dutch horticulture acreage that started in 2009 has come to an end as the total Dutch acreage recorded some growth again in 2016. This growth is due to a strong rise in greenhouse peppers and greenhouse soft fruit.
Last year the growth of the greenhouse acreage was minimal: from 9,208 ha in 2015 to 9,234 ha in 2016. At its peak in 2009 there were 10,320 ha of greenhouse in the Netherlands.
Increase in greenhouse vegetables
There is a proportionately larger increase in the greenhouse vegetable acreage, from 7,554 to 4,916 ha. The growth is caused by the pepper acreage, which according to the CBS figures has grown from 1,163 to 1,314 ha.
Strawberries and fruit
The increase in greenhouse grown soft fruit is also notable. With 87 ha, the greenhouse soft fruit acreage is higher than ever. Strawberries were not included in this. The Dutchgreenhouse strawberry acreage continues to fluctuate around 280 ha.
View all the figures here.