Dutch orchid grower making international debut in Guatemala

From The Tico Times:

WATERINGEN, Netherlands — One of Holland’s largest orchid growers is about to take its first plunge overseas in the form of a sophisticated greenhouse in Guatemala to be built with help from a Dutch horticulture expert based in Costa Rica.

Ter Laak Orchids produces six million phalaeonopsis plants a year at its main 78,500-square-meter facility in Wateringen — a town located near The Hague, in the heart of Holland’s fertile Westland region.

But limited growth potential at home is pushing Ter Laak and its rivals to seek out new frontiers, says consultant Ed Smit of Ideavelop in San Ramón de Tres Ríos.

“There’s a tendency in the Netherlands where growers are either going bankrupt or looking for opportunities outside of Holland,” Smit said. “When it comes to Ter Laak and other highly developed companies, you can hardly talk about greenhouses anymore. We are reaching our limits in the Netherlands. But in a country like Guatemala, there’s lots of room to improve.”

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