Flower deliveries in the Netherlands will be reduced by up to 40%, the newspaper De Telegraaf writes on August 30, citing the opinions of the owners of flower greenhouses.
Flower growers in the Netherlands are drastically curtailing crops as current energy prices make the business unprofitable. Flower deliveries are expected to drop by around 40%.
“I’m not going to grow a new crop. This is not possible with current energy prices. Gas has risen in price by 20 times,” shared the owner of six hectares of flower greenhouses in the province of Gelderland, Christian Buijs. According to him, it will be unprofitable to grow flowers during the winter months, so Buys will be left without proceeds from the coming Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. He added that he was forced to miss out on income for the entire winter period, although he should have earned it.
Before Christmas and next spring in 2023, buyers will clearly notice in supermarkets, flower shops and garden centers that there are much fewer offers and lower quality, experts in the floriculture sector in the Netherlands have warned. Due to high energy prices, many growers will leave their greenhouses empty next fall and winter. The horticultural association LTO Glaskracht expects flower supplies to drop by 35-40%.
“We are going to produce much less,” said David van Tuijl, board member of Greenhouse Horticulture Netherlands, “This year will be a huge test for the industry.” He explained that for growers who enter into short-term contracts for energy, further production of flowers will become impossible.
“Last month between 30% and 50% of orders were cancelled,” said Hugo Nordhoek Hegt, CEO of breeding firm Dümmen Orange. The annual turnover of Dümmen Orange is about 400 million euros, the organization employs more than 7 thousand employees, the company is the world’s largest flower breeder.
