Dutch Horticulture Production Value Grew in 2012

The production of the Dutch horticulture grew by 4% to a value of 7.9 billion Euro in 2012. The export value of horticultural products remained stable with a value of 16.5 billion Euro (2011: 16.6 billion) The value of imports in creased to 9.4 billion Euro, an increase of 2%. This according to estimates by the Productschap Tuinbouw (PT).

The increase in the production value is for a large part thanks to the vegetable sector, which showed a slight recovery after the - as a result of the EHEC-crisis - disastrous year 2011. This has been realised on an area which decreased by 4% in 2012. A product such as aubergine did not have better prices than in 2011, but most other glasshouse growers obtained a better return. The export of fruit and vegetables to the two largest clients, Germany and the United Kingdom, increased slightly (+1%). The export to France and Poland, however, decreased considerably as a result of which the total export of fruit and vegetables decreased by 1% to 9.9 billion Euro.

The apple and pear harvest in 2012 was considerably less than that of 2011. The production value of fruit was clearly higher in 2012 than in 2011. Strawberries were the exception. Both the average price and the produced quantity remained slightly behind that of the previous year. The production of mushrooms remained about the same. Prices were slightly higher with the result that the production value is also somewhat higher.

Source: FreshPlaza - Dutch Horticulture Production Value Grew in 2012