The global vertical farming market was valued at $5.6 billion in 2022 and is forecasted to grow to more than $35 billion in eight years by 2032. Space efficiency, year-round growing, and harvest cycles have made indoor farming 170 times more productive than outdoor fields. It produces 50 to 100 times more yield per square foot than traditional farming.
Luis Pablo Calvo Rios, a Food and Agriculture Management advisor and the former Vice President of Manufacturing at NatureSweet in Mexico says vertical farming is an excellent example of the combination of market needs, opportunity and the use of technology.
"Among its benefits, as we know, vertical farming can be close to their target market, as it is a close loop it reduces the risk of pathogens, pests or diseases in the crops, can be adjusted for a wide range of crops and purposes like nursery of finish goods production," said Rios. "Technology in those systems is key to gather, process and control the production systems so the growers can focus on providing the crops what they really need."
More than nine million tons of strawberries are produced globally each year. China, the US, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, and Germany are the largest consumers of strawberries, accounting for 73% of the global consumption. Americans eat an average of 4.85 pounds of fresh and frozen strawberries yearly.
Read more at forbes.com