Some 25,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands is now dedicated to bulb production, a rise of 75% over the past 30 years, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday.

While production has gone down some 10% in traditional bulb growing areas north of The Hague, there has been an increase in the provinces of Drenthe, Flevoland and Overijssel.

Almost half the land is devoted to tulips, followed by daffodils and lilies.

Exports are also rising. Between 2010 and 2015, bulb exports rose 7% to some €900m. While Germany remains the biggest export market, sales to the US totalled €109m, making it the second biggest market. China and Britain were in third and fourth place.

This weekend, the Keukenhof bulb gardens near Lisse open to the public for the first time this season. Some seven million bulbs have been planted in the gardens this year.