Climate change, Brexit threaten Dutch tulips

Spring is the most colorful season in the Netherlands, when the country is transformed into a sea of flowers. The small country on the North Sea coast is the world's leading tulip exporter, with around 2.5 million tulip bulbs sold abroad every year.

The flowers are also a major tourist attraction. People come from all over the world to admire and photograph their colorful blooms, like here at the famous Keukenhof in Lisse. The Dutch climate, with its long, cool springs, is perfect for the growth of the bulbs. But now, climate change is posing a major challenge for tulip growers.

Arjan Smit, seen here inspecting tulips in one of his fields, is also feeling the effects. "The climate has changed. We can feel that. We have more wet periods," Smit told the AFP news agency. In his long career, the 55-year-old has already experienced many changes, but climate change is making it increasingly difficult to maintain the family flower business that his grandfather founded in 1940.

Ancient windmills and blooming fields of tulips: for many, this represents the quintessential picture of Holland. But this idyll is under threat, as global warming causes more water vapor to enter the atmosphere. This means wetter winters which, along with more heat waves in spring and summer, are a deadly combination for tulips.

"Last year, it was just raining, raining, raining and you can see the result," Smit told AFP. Between 8 to 9% of his tulips died, and more are at risk. Because the winter was so wet, the roots of the tulips didn't grow deep enough in search of water. "I'm very afraid now [...] that in a warm period they will not have enough roots to drink all the water they need and they will die again," he said.

Smit normally produces 11 million tulips of different varieties, but this year he fears he'll see a poor harvest due to the weather. He's also facing rising costs: while he used to only have to water his fields two to four times a season, in recent years this has sometimes been necessary every week ― which makes growing tulips increasingly expensive.

Dutch tulip growers now have another challenge to contend with: stricter border controls following Brexit. From April 30, 2024, many plants are subject to physical checks when entering the United Kingdom. Smit estimates that around 80% of his harvest goes abroad.

Any delay in border controls would be "catastrophic" for the flowers, said Smit. But he hopes to meet the challenges facing the Dutch national crop. "It's hard but when you control this in a good way, you can have a good profit in the bulbs industry," he said.