In this overview, we report report how the Russian war in Ukraine is affecting the greenhouse horticulture. Concerns about the people continue to rise as Russian troops advance and the bombings continue. It was announced this morning that a greenhouse complex has also been affected.
The greenhouse in question is Villa Verde, a nursery consisting of four hectares of open field flower production, with four polytunnel greenhouses measuring 400 square meters each. Here, Yulia and her mother grow hydrangeas, peonies, and other crops. The company is located in a village just a few kilometers out of Kyiv. Last night, it was hit by Russian artillery and burned down completely. Click here to read more about the attack on FloralDaily.com.
In the Netherlands, growers are talking about the human as well as the economic side, like chrysanthemum grower Wouter Duijvestijn, who, in an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, did not want to talk about the economic consequences for the trade but only said that exporters are heavily affected.
Gas
However crude it may be, as a result of the war in Ukraine, the attention here also goes directly to the gas price. It has been high for months and the war situation is pushing the prices up. Yesterday, the contract price for April on the Dutch gas trading platform Title Transfer Facility (TTF) closed at 98 euro cents per cubic meter. This morning, the intraday daily gas price steadily climbed above 1 euro.
The Intraday gasprice this morning between 8 and 10. Click here for the enlargement.
The Netherlands depends on Russia for about 20% of its gas. However, for many other countries, the percentage is higher. Europe in general, depends on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas, reports Reuters. There are no sanctions so far imposed on Russia's trade in hydrocarbons, although it is possible Moscow could suspend gas sales to Europe in retaliation for sanctions or the conflict in Ukraine could damage supply routes.
The uncertainty in the energy markets is huge as a result of the war. In Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, energy analyst Klaas Dozeman of BCI, which advises medium-sized companies in horticulture, among others, on buying energy, reflects on this. He indicates that there are now doubts whether Russian gas will continue to come. In the past, gas company Gazprom continued to supply during political crises. Now the market is not sure.
According to Dozeman, however, the 'most acute' uncertainty lies in whether it will still be possible to pay Gazprom. When the sanctions were announced last week, the closure of the payment system Swift was not yet included. Only when Swift was added to the list did the gas price rise sharply. And with the possibility hovering over the market that an exception will be made for payments for gas and oil, the price has fallen slightly again, the newspaper reports.
Fuel prices
In many countries (see here for example UK, US, Germany) fuel prices are also increasing.
Regarding the sanctions, the European Commission regularly sends out updates, click here for the latest updates.