"The shortage of seeds will be noticeable this year, except for those who have stocked them early"

Seed potato prices are under some pressure as supply is very low and demand is not expected to fall. "Prices already increased last year, but that was for a different reason. They grew because the increase in the price of all inputs that took place, because of the war in Ukraine, had not yet been applied to them. This year, prices have risen due to the lack of seeds."

"In fact, at first they were quite well adjusted to what they had, and during the planting campaign there had to be upward corrections; in our case, related to calibers, but I know that all the operators had to correct prices. I would say that prices have increased by an average of 20 to 25%."

According to Juanjo, the 6-7% drop in the area of seed potatoes in Europe this year - a decrease in area that has been known since summer, when the continent's largest producers of seed potatoes and potatoes for consumption shared the figures for the campaign - has been accompanied by a decrease in tuberization (due to weather conditions) that's led to a reduction in the number of tubers destined for seeds.

"In addition, this year there have been more declassifications due to virus issues. I think that -in this regard- Europe has to get used to being affected by certain diseases that come from the south to the north, as summers are becoming increasingly warmer," Juanjo said.

"Finally, a small percentage of the total hectares were affected by torrential rains at the time of harvest and there are plots in which the potatoes have not yet been taken out."

"All this has led to a decrease in supply this campaign, with fewer quantities and much larger calibers. I've heard that there could be a nearly 20% drop in supply. However, I think that the analysis should be done by variety because long-cycle varieties are the most affected and I estimate that some long-cycle varieties will experience a much greater reduction. One of Agrico's star varieties is Agria, which is its most planted variety in Spain, and perhaps the most affected variety this season."

Will there be seeds for everyone?
Andalusia is the first region to plant potatoes in Spain and it has almost completed its early potato planting. "We still don't know what has been sown in the south. In addition to the lack of seeds, the south is facing a lack of water; despite these setbacks, the data shows that the planted area is high."

Regarding how this will affect Castile or Galicia, Juanjo said: "Unfortunately, I would say that the last one to arrive will run out of the potatoes they wanted, in terms of sizes or even varieties. However, this could also be an opportunity to plant potatoes that the sector has not worked with before, which could be a positive thing."

"Our commercial departments have tried to convey this situation to farmers from the start. However, the market sometimes receives these comments cautiously because they think they might be part of a commercial strategy to sell more and earlier. There are warehousemen who, seeing the circumstances, collected seeds and we've already seen discharges in December for areas where potatoes are typically planted in March. The shortage of seeds will be noticeable this year, except for those who stocked them early."

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