6 ms·

Doesn’t the Netherlands export the majority of Europe’s fresh food? As long as the supply chain doesn’t break down, I don’t see how it would be possible for Sp

Doesn’t the Netherlands export the majority of Europe’s fresh food? As long as the supply chain doesn’t break down, I don’t see how it would be possible for Spain and Germany to run out of food. Especially since they’re all in the EU, even if the Netherlands wanted to close off their borders, there’s no way they really could.

isaacgreyed 7y ago
A drop in supply in food all at once could raise the price causing considerable issues.
llampx 7y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by countries in the EU not being able to close their borders, they can.
- muro 7y ago
  They can and recently did.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
the8472 7y ago
Based on the greenhouses I could identify on google maps spain's part seems much larger. Netherlands - https://www.google.com/maps/@52.021357,4.5405597,46292m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@52.021357,4.5405597,46292m/data... Spain - https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7995257,-2.4654344,60237m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7995257,-2.4654344,60237m/da...
- danieldk 7y ago
  I am not sure about fresh food, but The Netherlands is world's second largest agricultural exporter (and no, it's not only flowers): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-... Also, it's not only about size, also efficiency. Scroll down the article and look at the insane yields per square mile for tomatoes, chilies + green peppers, and cucumbers. No other country comes even close.
  - tgv 7y ago
    That's import+export for you. It's not all local produce.
  - loopbit 7y ago
    The Netherlands are the biggest re-exporter of fruits and vegs. In terms of both quantity and value, they are behind Spain: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/2135083/netherlands-world-s-biggest-re-exporter-for-11-fruit-veg-products/ https://www.freshplaza.com/article/2135083/netherlands-world...
    - ricardobeat 7y ago
      > The Netherlands is the biggest exporter of fresh vegetables though, both looking at quantity and value
  - ReptileMan 7y ago
    Not sure if blind test can determine whether you are eating Netherlands' tomato or styrofoam. The only good tomatoes from these parts of the world I have tasted were cherry ones. Not sure whether it is cultivar, climate, agricultural practice or terroir. But they taste nothing like real tomatoes.
    - dzhiurgis 7y ago
      I think most people never tasted a real tomato...
- csomar 7y ago
  That's not how it works. There are numbers and the Netherlands exports as twice as Spain. Probably because they have a smaller population, so they consume much less internally. Also it rains a LOT in the Netherlands while Spain is mostly Mediterranean. There is a reason why North Africa didn't have a big population until very recently.
Zenst 7y ago
Spain grows most of the fruit and veg, whilst the netherlands grow mostly flowers. The demand for flowers has somewhat waned and recently saw an article of flower farmers in Africa suffering as nowhere to sell and case of piles of flowers composting away. The impact in that market will be very impacting.
- Fronzie 7y ago
  Netherlands does lots of pigs and tomatoes too. Apparently a fair amount of dairy as well.
- morsch 7y ago
  The Netherland's flower exports top the charts, but they export almost as much (each) meat, dairy and vegetables. https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/03/agricultural-exports-hit-record-level https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/03/agricultural-exports-h...
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  You might try searching the term "Netherlands feeds the world" and perusing the many articles that turn up and perhaps reassess your ideas about the Netherlands.
  - rjsw 7y ago
    You are on a different continent, we can just look at the labels on food to see where it comes from.
    - rjsw 7y ago
      We also get to see the trucks carrying the food. Go on any French autoroute and 2 out of 3 of the trucks will be from Spain.
      - rad_gruchalski 7y ago
        You mean registered in Spain. Where is the trailer registered? And what does the place of a vehicle registration has to do with the origin of the cargo they carry?

isaacgreyed 7y ago

A drop in supply in food all at once could raise the price causing considerable issues.

llampx 7y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by countries in the EU not being able to close their borders, they can.

muro 7y ago
They can and recently did.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

the8472 7y ago

Based on the greenhouses I could identify on google maps spain's part seems much larger. Netherlands - https://www.google.com/maps/@52.021357,4.5405597,46292m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@52.021357,4.5405597,46292m/data... Spain - https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7995257,-2.4654344,60237m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7995257,-2.4654344,60237m/da...

danieldk 7y ago
I am not sure about fresh food, but The Netherlands is world's second largest agricultural exporter (and no, it's not only flowers): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-... Also, it's not only about size, also efficiency. Scroll down the article and look at the insane yields per square mile for tomatoes, chilies + green peppers, and cucumbers. No other country comes even close.
- tgv 7y ago
  That's import+export for you. It's not all local produce.
- loopbit 7y ago
  The Netherlands are the biggest re-exporter of fruits and vegs. In terms of both quantity and value, they are behind Spain: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/2135083/netherlands-world-s-biggest-re-exporter-for-11-fruit-veg-products/ https://www.freshplaza.com/article/2135083/netherlands-world...
  - ricardobeat 7y ago
    > The Netherlands is the biggest exporter of fresh vegetables though, both looking at quantity and value
- ReptileMan 7y ago
  Not sure if blind test can determine whether you are eating Netherlands' tomato or styrofoam. The only good tomatoes from these parts of the world I have tasted were cherry ones. Not sure whether it is cultivar, climate, agricultural practice or terroir. But they taste nothing like real tomatoes.
  - dzhiurgis 7y ago
    I think most people never tasted a real tomato...
csomar 7y ago
That's not how it works. There are numbers and the Netherlands exports as twice as Spain. Probably because they have a smaller population, so they consume much less internally. Also it rains a LOT in the Netherlands while Spain is mostly Mediterranean. There is a reason why North Africa didn't have a big population until very recently.

Zenst 7y ago

Spain grows most of the fruit and veg, whilst the netherlands grow mostly flowers. The demand for flowers has somewhat waned and recently saw an article of flower farmers in Africa suffering as nowhere to sell and case of piles of flowers composting away. The impact in that market will be very impacting.

Fronzie 7y ago
Netherlands does lots of pigs and tomatoes too. Apparently a fair amount of dairy as well.
morsch 7y ago
The Netherland's flower exports top the charts, but they export almost as much (each) meat, dairy and vegetables. https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/03/agricultural-exports-hit-record-level https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/03/agricultural-exports-h...
DoreenMichele 7y ago
You might try searching the term "Netherlands feeds the world" and perusing the many articles that turn up and perhaps reassess your ideas about the Netherlands.
- rjsw 7y ago
  You are on a different continent, we can just look at the labels on food to see where it comes from.
  - rjsw 7y ago
    We also get to see the trucks carrying the food. Go on any French autoroute and 2 out of 3 of the trucks will be from Spain.
    - rad_gruchalski 7y ago
      You mean registered in Spain. Where is the trailer registered? And what does the place of a vehicle registration has to do with the origin of the cargo they carry?