High Energy Prices Hitting European Tomato Growers Hard

By Greenhouse Grower staff|September 2, 2022

If you want an example of the huge pressure growers overseas are feeling from energy costs, look no further than Sweden’s leading tomato grower, Nordic Greens Trelleborg, which is suspending its cultivation during the coming winter season due to high electricity prices.

According to Swedish online news source Aftonbladet, Nordic Greens Trelleborg has approximately 160,000 square meters of greenhouses, of which 20,000 are equipped with LED lighting that is on 18 hours a day. Between 30 and 40 tons of tomatoes are grown a week during the winter.

But for the first time in eight years, the company has chosen to cancelled orders for the seedlings that were to be planted in a few weeks.

“It hits us hard, really hard. It simply costs too much with the lighting, but it is still too early to say exactly how big a break it will be for us financially,” says site manager Mindaugas Krasauskas on Aftonbladet.com. “Of those with whom we have been in contact, more than half will not grow any tomatoes this winter either. There will be a noticeable gap in the market.”