Worries for grower Wouter due to high gas prices: ‘If this continues, will it still be worth it?’
Stop or continue? That is the big question for Wouter van den Bosch. He runs a family business in horticulture, but the high gas price is putting the company at risk. According to him, this creates problems for the entire Netherlands.
“We are positive people, let’s start with that,” says Wouter van den Bosch (30). The family business has existed since 1854 and he runs it together with his father and brother. It is not the first time the family business has had to deal with a setback.
Extreme and sudden
“We survived the economic crisis, but this is different. It is so extreme and sudden. We lack perspective, and that makes it uncertain. If this continues, it may be the end of our company and perhaps of the entire greenhouse horticulture sector in the Netherlands.”
The gas price was already high before the war in Ukraine. “At the time, we thought we just had to bite the bullet, that it would cost us a lot of money in the winter but would soon yield enough again. But now it looks like the gas price will still be just as high next winter. That is a major problem.”
Alternative energy sources
Everything has become more expensive over the past year: gas, electricity, labor, and transport. “We have taken hits on various fronts and some we can survive. We have some reserves. But the gas price is going too far. No company will be able to cover those costs,” says Wouter.
That is why he is working on alternative, sustainable energy sources, among other things. “There is a heat pipeline going to the port of Rotterdam and we also want to be connected to that pipeline. It is still a bit of a bureaucratic challenge, but we hope to get it through quickly.”
Government assistance needed
Although Wouter is already focusing on new, sustainable energy sources, he believes government assistance is necessary. “So much energy is needed to heat the greenhouse. We need lights and electricity, but the tax on electricity has been increased by the government. That is far too expensive. It must come down.”
“Many growers will soon have to stop their businesses due to the increased costs. I really don’t want to think about that yet. But I sometimes wonder: if this continues, will it still be worth it? I am willing to take losses to be able to continue later, but there is currently no perspective.”
Less food in Europe
Without gas, there is no food, and that has consequences for the Netherlands. “If greenhouse horticulture in the Netherlands does not make it, then a large part of the food supply will disappear. That has an impact in the Netherlands, but it is also serious for the whole of Europe.”
“If nothing changes, many growers will stop planting in the winter. We must not let that happen. We need to get clarity from the government that things will change, because right now the future of my company is not certain.”
