Representatives of the German IVG and Dutch VPN substrate industries called on national and EU policymakers to develop a coordinated European agenda to secure strategic raw materials for potting soil and other substrates. claiming these materials are essential for plant cultivation, now and in the decades ahead. The appeal followed a joint conference in Bad Zwischenahn, where industry leaders warned that without a strategic framework, substrate production in Germany and the Netherlands will be at risk. This would have serious consequences for horticulture, food production, urban greening, and consumer markets.
Substrates and the plants grown in them are systemically important. They support food security by enabling healthy and sustainable plant-based food production. They help cities adapt to climate change through green infrastructure, and they contribute to a healthy urban and indoor climate while supporting biodiversity. They also play a role in personal well-being, especially through gardening, one of the most popular hobbies in both countries. Growing on substrates offers clear sustainability and efficiency benefits, including healthier crops, reduced impact from weather and climate, lower use of water, nutrients, and crop protection, reduced land use, and less labor-intensive cultivation.
Germany and the Netherlands form one of Europe's most important horticultural and substrate ecosystems. Their industries are strongly connected through trade, innovation, and shared sustainability goals. Germany provides a large domestic market and strong industrial networks, while the Netherlands brings advanced greenhouse technology, high export capacity, and extensive expertise in substrate innovation. Together they hold a strategic position in European food and plant production.
Substrates are essential for safe and responsible food production and for creating green, livable cities. They also hold significant economic value and serve as a foundation for home gardening. Scarcity will raise production costs and food prices and could threaten Europe's food self-sufficiency. Even potting soil, widely used by hobby gardeners, could become a luxury item. Substrates also contribute to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, climate action, and life on land. The joint declaration reflects the close ties between the two countries, which share supply chains, raw materials, and cross-border operations. They see themselves not as competitors but as partners in a shared transformation focused on innovation, responsibility, and economic resilience.
Global demand for substrates is rising. Population growth to 9 billion, increasing prosperity, shifting food consumption, and the need for greener environments all drive demand. Research from Wageningen University and Research predicted a fourfold increase in substrate demand by 2050 compared to 2017. Demand from Asia, particularly China, is accelerating, creating strong competition for raw materials. Geopolitical developments and EU member state policies add further pressure. Europe's long-standing focus on reducing peat extraction has put the system at risk. Peat extraction has already stopped in several countries and is increasingly difficult to permit in others, even when done responsibly and in ways that do not harm biodiversity and support rewetting goals. The current challenges, made worse by poor weather in the Baltic States, illustrate the vulnerability. Coir, another key material, is also under significant pressure.
Germany and the Netherlands together produce about 16 million cubic meters of substrate annually, roughly half of Europe's total production. Key raw materials include peat, green compost, wood fibre, coir, bark, and mineral components such as perlite and clay. Limited availability of coir and peat is already pushing demand toward alternatives like perlite, bark, wood fibre, and compost, causing major problems for production. New renewable raw materials such as cultivated sphagnum, bagasse, miscanthus, reed canary grass, and fermentation residues remain limited in volume and inconsistent in quality. Both industries are committed to increasing the use of renewables, but they stress that all available raw materials are urgently needed.
IVG and VPN call for immediate political action to reassess Europe's strategic position on substrate raw materials. They urge policymakers in Germany, the Netherlands, and the EU to recognize the substrate industry as nationally important and to treat its raw materials as a political priority. They ask for a coordinated strategic agenda to secure raw material availability in both volume and quality and for this agenda to be reflected in national and European policy. They also call for a simpler regulatory framework for peat extraction, peat use, and production of local renewable raw materials, and for the creation of a level playing field for raw material use and substrate production across Europe.
For more information:
Industrieverband Garten (IVG)
https://ivg.org/
