High energy prices are forcing German agronomists to shut down their greenhouse business and stop growing vegetables. In particular, they are abandoning the popular and thermophilic tomatoes which grow best at the temperatures between +20 and +22 degrees. It had become too expensive to grow them in winter, Bavarian radio reported.
The vegetable-growing family, Tania and Andreas Evers, said they could no longer afford such temperatures in the greenhouse, which is heated by gas. Normally, they used to grow tomatoes and cucumbers on 1.5 hectares under glass in northern Munich, even in winter. But the gas contract expires at the end of the year, and the family has no idea how much to expect now, but they are sure it will be expensive.
From seeds, young plants, fertilizer, protection and packaging materials to diesel, gas and electricity, everything is going to get more expensive. Simply putting the burden on their customers, who also have to save money, would be unfair, the Everses say. They’ve already noticed, for example, how customers have begun abandoning spontaneous purchases of cocktail cherry tomatoes.
Instead of tomatoes and cucumbers, the vegetable growers decided to switch to growing lettuce. Andreas shared that instead of waiting for state support, he will prepare for the future himself. He intends to buy a combined heat and power plant capable of generating heat and electricity, which will run on liquefied natural gas. In any case, the family business, founded back in 1890, should continue.
The German government has said that large consumers will receive help starting in January 2023, while households and small and medium-sized businesses will not receive help until February. In this regard, gardeners decide to look for their own ways out of the crisis, without relying on the authorities.
On November 3, Stephan Kauter, a Bundestag deputy from the Alternative for Germany party, stated that Germany’s refusal of Russian energy resources affects the whole world market and leads to the growth of poverty. He also expressed the opinion that green technologies will not solve the energy crisis in Germany.
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