The greenhouse vegetable industry of the European Union faced huge problems in 2021. Their main reason was the energy crisis, which has hit industries using a lot of fuel and electricity. The greenhouse industry is one of them. EastFruit project analysts report this with reference to the fresh-market website.
The situation has only worsened since then. It was expected in 2021 that local greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers in winter would become a luxury item for EU consumers unless a reasonable solution was found (according to most participants in the greenhouse industry, this would only be a shift away from EU climate policy).
After Russian aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent rise in fuel and electricity prices, forecasts for the greenhouse industry have become even more pessimistic. They seemed to be confirmed when growers in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, or Germany were reported to suspend winter production because of the huge costs of heating and lighting greenhouses. There were also no local cucumbers and tomatoes in the supermarkets in Poland in December.
Read more at east-fruit.com