In the past, increases in scale in Dutch greenhouse horticulture mainly occurred because large companies built new greenhouses, while smaller companies stopped production. Over the past decade, increases in scale have increasingly come about through mergers, Rabobank notes. Larger companies in particular seem to opt for this. This happens with tomato, pepper and aubergine growers. So far, mergers are not as common among cucumber and strawberry growers.
The example of tomato shows this movement well. The area of tomatoes under glass has remained hovering around 1,700 hectares over the past decade. Ten years ago, the share of the ten largest farms was around 500 hectares (~30%). Now, the (Dutch) area of the ten largest farms has risen to around 850 hectares, accounting for about 50% of the area under glass.
The remaining 200 farms also have around 850 hectares. The average area therefore mainly shows the increase in scale of the largest ten farms. The trend of merging farms through mergers or acquisitions also continued unabated in 2024.
Source: Rabobank