Time magazine ran an interesting article on the tomato market in
the Holland and Greece. The Greeks produces twice as many
tomatoes than the Dutch but very little of it is sold in export
markets. This is a concern in that it is a missed opportunity
for the Greeks to earn income. What is more ironic is the fact
that in the summer imports of tomatoes come in from Holland
because the Greek farmers are still struggling to grow a crop
during the hottest time of the year – Holland employs high-tech
green houses and is able to produce significantly more during
the summer months than Greece. However, Greece has the potential
to produce tomatoes for domestic consumption as well as for
export but only has two harvests a year and is at the mercy of
the elements – poor weather = poor harvest. The Dutch in
contrast have temperature controlled greenhouses helping to
create ideal growing conditions and they can produce 70kg of
tomatoes in a square metre of his greenhouse whilst the
Mediterranean grower gets approximately 7k