The potato market is currently in a wait-and-see mode. "Once all the potatoes are stored, we will have a clearer picture of price formation, but with the harvest still in full swing, the market is likely to remain stable for a while," says Wim van de Ree, General Director of Nedato. "Right now, harvesting is in full force everywhere. In the southwest of the country, about 80% of the crop has already been harvested. In previous years, we often saw rain showers along the coastal areas around this time, but recently, it's been the east of the country that has faced the most challenges. There, it's estimated that only about half of the acreage has been harvested so far."
"The French fry market isn't seeing much excitement at the moment. During this period, processors are sourcing their contracted crops directly from the fields, and this trend will likely continue until mid-November, as we saw last year. Growers who have dry potatoes stored indoors are not going to sell them for the current price of 12.5 cents. There is little demand, except for the Innovator variety, which stands out with a price of around 20 cents. Due to generally finer sizes, factory yields are lower, as more potatoes are needed to produce a kilo of fries."
"What is doing relatively well at the moment is the export market. The price of table potatoes even reached up to 30 cents. However, this market has started to decline somewhat due to increased supply from France and Germany, where more potatoes are already dry in storage. Larger, high-quality lots are fetching slightly higher prices. Agria potatoes were priced around 30 cents, but that market is also starting to feel some pressure, though the price is still significantly higher than current prices for French fry potatoes."
"For now, we'll have to wait and see how the harvest progresses. Even the processors are still trying to figure out what's being harvested. What you hear from almost everyone is that yields are lower than expected. There have been quite a few reports of crop failures, possibly due to the high amount of seed potatoes that were cut. We are hearing many reports of disappointing yields, particularly in southern Netherlands and Belgium. In Germany and France, yields are average at best, but the acreage there was considerably larger."
As for the Service2Potato platform, which Nedato helped launch this summer, it's also a waiting game for now. "There's little incentive in the current market to place free-market potatoes on the platform. However, as of last week, it's now possible to trade seed potatoes. But for now, the potato market is at a bit of a standstill, and some movement will be needed to get trading going again."
For more information:
Wim van de Ree
Nedato
Jan van der Heijdenstraat 48
3261 LE Oud-Beijerland
+31 (0)186 645960
[email protected]
www.nedato.com