What kind of vegetables do we grow in our greenhouses?

Dutch greenhouses mainly grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and aubergines. In 2023, together these vegetables occupied a total of 4.1 thousand hectares – about the same area as Amstelveen. Much of this area (over 43%) was used for tomatoes and almost 38% for peppers, followed by cucumbers and aubergines.

The area used to grow these four greenhouse vegetablesnoot1 was about 373 hectares larger in 2023 than a decade earlier, an increase of 10 percent. Most of the extra space was used to grow peppers and aubergines. After a peak in 2021, recent years have seen a decline in the area used for these four vegetables. But despite this trend reversal, in 2023 it was still larger than a decade earlier.

Show datatableGreenhouse vegetables, cultivated area (1,000 hectares)Hide datatableGreenhouse vegetables, cultivated area (1,000 hectares)

Greenhouse vegetables, cultivated area (1,000 hectares)

Perioden	Tomatoes	Peppers	Cucumbers	Aubergines
2013	1.77	1.24	0.62	0.10
2014	1.78	1.20	0.60	0.10
2015	1.76	1.28	0.55	0.11
2016	1.78	1.32	0.55	0.11
2017	1.79	1.32	0.58	0.10
2018	1.79	1.31	0.56	0.11
2019	1.80	1.50	0.58	0.12
2020	1.87	1.53	0.60	0.13
2021	1.85	1.63	0.64	0.12
2022	1.82	1.65	0.62	0.13
2023	1.77	1.56	0.66	0.12

Fewer farms growing greenhouse vegetables

In 2023, there were 625 farms growing greenhouse vegetables in the Netherlands – 29 percent fewer than a decade earlier. The biggest drop was in the number of tomato growers, with the number of farms growing vine tomatoes decreasing by almost 50 percent. On the other hand, the number of farms growing cherry tomatoes grew by 150 percent.

A majority of the farms growing greenhouse vegetables still grow tomatoes (35 percent), followed by peppers (30 percent) and cucumbers (29 percent).

Show datatableFarms growing greenhouse vegetablesHide datatableFarms growing greenhouse vegetables

Farms growing greenhouse vegetables

Perioden	Tomatoes	Peppers	Cucumbers	Aubergines
2013	326	266	246	47
2014	310	248	234	45
2015	298	246	221	51
2016	274	253	210	46
2017	260	230	214	40
2018	249	231	205	38
2019	247	237	198	43
2020	263	253	214	48
2021	255	256	217	53
2022	223	214	185	41
2023	221	190	181	33

Greenhouse vegetable production has fallen in recent years

In 2023, the total yieldnoot2 of greenhouse vegetables was 1.63 million tonnes, almost the same as a decade earlier. After rising steadily until 2020, yields then began to fall. In 2023, yields decreased by 2 percent compared to the year before, to about the same level as a decade earlier.

This decline in production is mainly due to high energy prices. Some tomato growers have switched to cucumbers, partly because these require less energy. The cucumber yield was up by 7 percent in 2023, as a result. Aubergine, tomato and pepper yields all fell last year.

Show datatableGreenhouse vegetables, gross yield (million tonnes)Hide datatableGreenhouse vegetables, gross yield (million tonnes)

Greenhouse vegetables, gross yield (million tonnes)

Perioden	Tomatoes	Cucumbers	Peppers	Aubergines
2013	0.86	0.40	0.33	0.05
2014	0.90	0.44	0.34	0.05
2015	0.89	0.41	0.36	0.05
2016	0.90	0.37	0.37	0.05
2017	0.91	0.40	0.37	0.05
2018	0.91	0.41	0.36	0.06
2019	0.91	0.41	0.42	0.06
2020	0.91	0.43	0.43	0.07
2021	0.88	0.44	0.44	0.06
2022	0.77	0.40	0.44	0.07
2023	0.73	0.43	0.42	0.06