Lucky year for horticulture?

The domestic greenhouse vegetable season is almost over, "Overall, we can look back on a good season," says Benny Cuypers from LAVA. "Cucumbers and bell peppers did well this year. Tomatoes had a difficult start, then had an excellent summer and fall, and now they are unfortunately not doing so well again. Eggplants also had a difficult start, but are doing better now. On the whole, it was a good season."

There have been complaints in the horticulture sector for years now. Has this been a lucky year? "That is very difficult to say," says Cuypers. "There are many aspects that effect the season, such as acreage, production elsewhere, and overlaps with other seasons. Production was harder in Southern Europe because of the warmth, and we benefited from that here. We also benefited from the fact that Southern Europe's bell pepper acreage was smaller than here. There have been other such influences as well. What we know for sure: if production does well everywhere, the horticulture sector will have a difficult year. What is noteworthy is that there was almost no overlap with the South this fall. Eggplant, cucumber and bell pepper production lined up nicely."