The company Wittenberg-Gemüse had already announced slight price increases at the start of the season. The CO₂, which is so essential for the growth of tomato plants, caused significant problems for the greenhouse operation. In the winter of the previous year, the supply was cut off when the supplier—the neighboring SKW Piesteritz nitrogen plant—shut down its two ammonia plants due to cost reasons.
© Hugo Huijbers | HortiDaily.comPlant manager Kevin van IJperen at this year's Fruit Logistica.
The heat supply was also reduced. "This was an exceptional situation," says location manager Kevin van IJperen, who is originally from the Netherlands. "Many people always think that CO₂ is bad, but we really need it. Our plants depend on it to develop properly." In figures: the greenhouses receive 22,000 tons of CO₂ per year from SKW - as long as the ammonia factories are running. "Due to the disruption, we had significant harvest and quality losses, which we found difficult to compensate for. This had a very negative impact."
In the Netherlands, too, growers sometimes receive less CO₂ from industry, for example during maintenance shutdowns in the summer. Another danger is the government's decision to store CO₂ under the North Sea floor. This could result in less CO₂ reaching horticulture.
For more information:
Wittenberg Gemüse GmbH
Hans-Heinrich-Franck-Straße 5
06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Tel: +49 (0)3491 / 50 62 5-0
Fax: +49 (0)3491 / 50 62 5-11
www.wittenberg-gemuese.de
info@wittenberg-gemuese.de