Back at the start of the year it was generally accepted that potato planting was going to be delayed by wet weather, back then Robert Doig from Caledonia Potatoes based in Perthshire, said as long as the planting started by 15th April all would be good, because for Scottish growers the longer light hours in the summer would ensure a good growth period.
As it turned out the last potatoes were planted at Robert's properties in late May into June, up to 3-4 weeks late.
"The spring was relentless we didn't even start planting until 26th of April and even then, the weather was bad which meant some of the crop was planted on a poor seedbeds. This was followed by a very dry July and August which hardened up the land leaving the plants very vulnerable. The result of all of this is the lowest yields that I can remember. On average we are about 5.5 tonnes per hectare down."
On a more positive note, the harvest is now complete, if a bit later than normal. "The harvest went very smoothly; we were on target only taking 5 weeks and one day."
"Yields are down on both seed and ware potatoes. The quality is good though and the quality of our seed for export is very good and demand is high, prices are good."
The seed potatoes are exported mainly to Egypt and also the Canary Islands and a small amount to Israel.
"For the contracted ware potatoes, we are under-supplying due to the 5% less yield, the free buy market will also be under-supplied. It is difficult to say how this will pan out as this is the time when we see the most potatoes on the UK market. If prices go higher, it will happen later on, but since we no longer have any figures on what was planted in the UK it is very hard to predict.
"In England certain areas have been more affected than others, in the early areas such as Kent and Suffolk, I believe they have had a good crop, but this is not the case in some other areas."
As for storage quality Robert thinks his potatoes will be good, but that may not be case country-wide. "More importantly, it is not a case of storage quality, but more of will there be enough potatoes at all this season."
For more information:
Robert Doig
Caledonia Potatoes
Tel: +441738 446 723
[email protected]
www.caledoniapotatoes.com