The cultivation of potatoes is seriously threatened in Spain (especially Andalusia), mainly due to the import of French potatoes for storage. To this we must add that, according to the latest reports, Andalusia's production is down by 30% compared to this same time last year as a result of unfavourable weather conditions.
The data published by the North-Western European Potato Growers association and by the Spanish Federation of Fruit, Vegetable, Flower and Live Plant Producer and Exporter Associations (Fepex) corroborate this situation, warning that the acreage has been reduced in all Spanish producing areas, while it remains practically unchanged in the rest of Europe. In Spain, the Potato Committee at Fepex has estimated that the acreage has been reduced by 10-15% in Andalusia, by 10% in Castile-Leon and by 20% in Cartagena.
Meanwhile, the North-Western European Potato Growers association (NEPG), made up of agricultural or potato-specific associations from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, has made an estimate for the 2018 campaign in late May, according to which, the acreage will grow slightly, by 0.4%, although the yield is expected to fall by about 4.4%.
According to the NEPG, the 0.4% growth of the acreage in the five countries this campaign is 6.7% above the average of the last five years, which confirms that the sector in Europe is growing, while Spain's is falling back.
The availability of plants has boosted their planting, motivated also by the rise in the demand for potatoes for processing and the lack of alternatives for the growers, as explained by the European association.
In France, Belgium and Germany, the acreage has grown, and only in the Netherlands has it is been reduced (by 2.5%). The United Kingdom, for its part, has not made any progress in this regard, and the NEPG has used the average of the last five years for the elaboration of this provisional estimate.
Based on these estimates, 585,600 hectares will be planted this year in those five countries. Production will be 4% lower than last year and the yield will fall by 4.4%, according to the NEPG, which also reports that the planting has started late in most of the producing areas.
In Spain, the Potato Committee at Fepex has already announced the reduction of the acreage in the main producing areas, which has been estimated at 10% in the case of Castile-Leon, at 10-15% in Andalusia and at 20% in Cartagena, according to José Ramón Aguado, president of the Committee.
Aguado, who is also president of the National Association of Fruit and Potato Producers and Traders (Asonal), as well as a producer and marketer in Castile-Leon, said that the planting has already been completed in this autonomous region, with a delay of 2 to 3 weeks compared to 2017. The harvest in this area won't start before 15 July, and in Valladolid, it will kick off between 15 and 20 July. The volume then will still be small, since the bulk of the production will be harvested in August.
As for the regions where the harvest has already started, which are Andalusia and Cartagena, production is 30% lower than last year's. Despite this, Marco Román, who is vice president of the Potato Committee at Fepex, member of Asociafruit and a producer in Seville, says that exports are developing at a good pace and that prices are acceptable.
Fepex explains that the aforementioned 30% drop in the yield is due to the bad weather conditions. Consequently, the harvesting process is being carried out quickly and the campaign is expected to be practically completed by 20 June.
The province of Seville has 3,500 hectares devoted to the cultivation of new potatoes. This is 44% of the total acreage devoted to the crop in Andalusia, which amounts to 8,000 hectares.
Source: diariosevilla.es