The Belgian potato harvest is in full swing. A few months ago, there was concern that it would be a difficult season, yield-wise. The situation seems to improve at the end of the growing season. "Everyone's still orienting themselves slightly on the market, but there are signs that trade will soon pick up," begins Jurgen Duthoo of Warnez.
He says the country's total harvest currently stands at 30%. The same is true for Warnez, a packer, which has its own growing areas. "We're now at a point in the harvest where we're figuring out what can go into storage and what must be processed immediately. The yields look better, but we have to remain vigilant about the potatoes' quality. Some varieties, especially the large calibers, have problems with Phytophthora and misshapen tubers."
"That's mostly due to the generally lower tuber settings per plant. The tubers that are there, thus, got a big boost. In short, they grew too fast, which caused some issues, especially with the large sizes. The important thing now is to see what can be stored. Everyone's figuring that out now, so the market is a little calmer," says Jurgen.
Warnez at the recent Fruit Attraction: Kurt De Nys (CEO), Christophe De Loore (Sales), Ellie Neerinck (Cultivation), Stijn De Pourcq (Cultivation), and Jurgen Duthoo (Exports).
Export market off to a slow start
That is because the industry continues working with contracts that are behind due to the late potato planting. Nonetheless, Jurgen got some inquiries for the Belgian product during Fruit Attraction in Madrid. "The industry still wants plenty, so there's little movement on the free market."
"There are occasional export requests starting to come in. Southern and Eastern Europe are already entering the market a bit, but these aren't true transactions yet," Duthoo explains. "Even there, they still have local stock, but the signals lead us to believe that our potatoes will eventually go all over."
Looking at prices, Jurgen sees vast differences between batches. Prices have been very high for a long time, but the more product that comes on the market, the more those prices will stabilize. "Quality, size, and destination, of course, determine free market prices. Different traders want different lots, and those prices differ greatly at present. It's hard to interpret that precisely. Generally, however, things look much more positive than a few months ago," he concludes.
For more information:
Jurgen Duthoo
Warnez Potatoes
2L Marialoopsesteenweg
8700, Tielt, Belgium
Tel.: +32 (0) 514 00 812
Email: [email protected]e
Website: www.warnezpotatoes.be