Задание

Read the text and choose the correct answer.

Tulip lovers worldwide will be happy to hear the production of the flower in the Netherlands is at a record height. The Netherlands exports two-thirds of the world’s flowers in the world, many of which are tulips.

The origin of the tulip’s popularity can be traced back in the late 16th early 17th centuries. The demand for tulips benefited the Dutch East India Company, which at one point generated a profit of 400% on the tulips alone.

Towards the mid-17th century, the tulip became the Netherlands’ fourth largest export. During a subsequent market crash, the tulip lost much of its value. However, it wasn’t until after World War II that the tulip started to rise in popularity. With this turn of events, farmers shifted back to cultivating the flowers, and the Netherlands became a large worldwide exporter of tulips.

Tulips can be cultivated using hydroponics, a method whereby plants grow without soil in a nutrient-enriched solution that does not require the use of chemicals. Growing the resilient tulip this way uses less heat and fewer resources, making it easier to produce every year and enabling growers to meet an increased demand for the flower. The tulip’s popularity has led the Dutch to build some of the largest greenhouses in the world, as they constantly seek ways of increasing the yield using the fewest amount of resources while at the same time minimizing the effect on the environment.

Growers use these same advanced greenhouse technologies to cross-breed and experiment with different flower varieties, a practice that sometimes results in new species that they export to the rest of the world.

A total of 77% of all the world’s flower bulbs originate from the Netherlands. By current estimates, nine out of ten tulips are exported from the Netherlands. This massive flower market comprises roughly 10% of the Netherlands’ Gross Domestic Product.

Today, the Dutch company Florca Westland exports over 750,000 kg of flowers, plants, and accessories each year to more than 30 destinations around the world. Now the Dutch manage to produce two billion astounding flowers annually. Each year, they set the bar higher as they find ways to make the greenhouses more efficient.

Tulips exported from the Netherlands make up ... of the word's flowers.

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