Across Europe’s berry industry, the expansion of table-top systems and tunnel production is becoming increasingly visible. These protected cultivation models are attracting strong interest from new investors, as they promise better control over production and quality. However, Rabobank highlights a key message: there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The right investment depends on the market, climate conditions, grower skills and capital availability.
Key benefits: quality, consistency and labor efficiency
According to Cindy van Rijswick, combining tunnels with table-top production on substrate offers several major advantages, including:
- improved labor efficiency,
- better and more consistent fruit quality,
- reduced disease pressure, leading to lower crop protection use and fewer yield losses.
These systems also support more efficient water and fertilizer use, improved yield predictability - especially important for commercial contracts - and higher overall yields thanks to reduced exposure to climate risks and diseases. In addition, the ability to extend or adjust the production season allows growers to target higher market prices and meet retailer demand more effectively. Labor efficiency also comes with better working conditions, as harvesting strawberries under cover and at standing height is far less demanding than field harvesting.
Adoption already high in Northwestern Europe
The level of adoption varies widely across Europe. In Northwestern Europe—particularly the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Nordic countries—tunnels have gradually become the standard. In the UK, strawberry production is now fully under tunnels. In the Netherlands, around three quarters of production takes place under tunnels or in greenhouses, while Belgium and Nordic markets also show high levels of protected strawberry production.
Germany is still in a transition phase, but with climate change increasing weather extremes and retailers raising quality expectations, protected systems are expected to expand further across Europe.
Investment costs: from tunnels to high-tech greenhouses
Rabobank estimates investment levels as follows:
- €150,000 to €300,000 per hectare for a combined table-top + tunnel system (depending on equipment such as irrigation and drainage),
- roughly half that amount for tunnels combined with soil cultivation,
- €1 to €2 million per hectare for advanced high-tech greenhouses.
Despite the high cost, greenhouse strawberry production can remain profitable thanks to higher yields and premium prices. The Netherlands already has more than 500 hectares of strawberries grown in greenhouses, showing that the model can work when the market supports higher returns.
Profitability depends on market access and technical expertise
Before investing in capital-intensive systems, growers must ensure they have commercial outlets capable of paying the higher prices needed to achieve profitability. These systems also require stronger technical skills and advanced crop management.
Management goes beyond building the structure
Installing tunnels and table-top systems is only the first step. Growers must adapt irrigation, fertigation and crop protection strategies, and make key decisions on substrate selection and additional technologies. Some UK producers are already using robots applying UV light treatments to strawberry plants to control powdery mildew, illustrating how protected cultivation can support more sustainable approaches.
Variety innovation is accelerating
Protected cultivation is not the only transformation shaping the sector. New strawberry and raspberry varieties are increasingly entering the market, with stronger focus on flavor, fruit size and shelf-life. Larger berries are particularly valued as they help reduce harvesting costs, a growing challenge across Europe. Disease resistance and yield performance remain essential drivers behind continuous varietal development.
Key takeaway
Rabobank emphasizes that investing in table-top and tunnel production can be a major competitiveness driver, but only when the production model is aligned with local conditions, market demand and the grower’s technical capacity. In the European berry sector, the right system is the one that fits the farm’s reality—not a universal formula.