Dutch strawberry growers aim to vanquish the Spanish

Dutch greenhouse strawberry growers are looking to usurp the current king of the supermarkets – the Spanish strawberry. Around a dozen large-scale strawberry farms are already working to produce strawberries under glass. At present, about 75% of all strawberries in the Netherlands grow in the open, but this may not be the case for much longer. The Dutch Berries production company is just one of the firms building mega-greenhouses. Others including Beekers Berries, Diepstraten, Kwekerij Van Oers, Brookberries, Van Gennip Kwekerijen, Dutch Berries and Royal Berry are also investing in this method of cultivation, which would allow producers to harvest quality strawberries throughout the year and replace Spanish production.

There has been a marked structural change in the Dutch strawberry sector, with a shift towards fewer, large-scale producers using greenhouse technology. Between 2006 and 2017, there was an increase in volumes produced, but the number of the country’s strawberry growers fell from 830 to 450. These larger firms are better placed to make the sizeable investments required to convert to greenhouse production – the new installation of Dutch Berries cost almost €40 million.