Polish potato exporters are expecting more product this year than they received last season, says Łukasz Ostrowicz, member of the board at Polish potato packer Bugaj: "This season, the volume of Polish potatoes appears to be slightly higher than last year. The season started earlier thanks to earlier planting, and the overall volume of new potatoes seems good. One noticeable difference this year, is that the tubers are bigger, and there is a shortage of the under 40mm fraction. We also observe that a lot of novice farms appeared in the 2024/25 season, who planted potatoes without having any contracts."
This season is marked by the earliest start in history, Ostrowicz explains. "Planting started very early this year, driven by the high prices from the last season, which encouraged growers to take the risk of early planting. As a result, potatoes from under double covers were ready as early as the end of May, marking one of the earliest starts in history. Despite experiencing some night frost in April, the fields were not significantly harmed. The biggest challenges have been the violent rainfalls that started in June, combined with an increase in fungal pathogens attacking the plantations, which made plant protection difficult."
According to Ostrowicz, the new potatoes are already being exported while there's still stock remaining from the previous season: "The quality of seed potatoes has been one of the major challenges this season. Due to issues from the previous season, the quality of seeds was lower, resulting in hampered growth in some fields. Another potential challenge is the short-term overproduction of new potatoes. Many growers prefer to sell a fair share of the production on a free-buy basis as new potatoes, rather than storing them for later sale during the season. However, I am hopeful that some of the remaining surplus can be exported, as we've already started exporting Polish new potatoes last week. The demand has been growing, thanks to the attractive price levels in Poland compared to elsewhere in Europe."
"Our overall expectations for the remainder of the season largely depend on the weather, which has become increasingly influential, due to climate change. We prefer to wait until the end of September to make a more accurate assessment. There is also a high pressure of pathogens on medium-early varieties dedicated for storage. It is difficult to assess what the quality of these potatoes will be at this point or how much produce will be suitable for long-term storage. Overall, we expect a larger production than in the previous season. However, we should not exclude a shortage of good quality potatoes in the spring due to the challenges I mentioned earlier, and the fact that there was no carry-over potatoes from the previous season," Ostrowicz concludes.
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Łukasz Ostrowicz
BUGAJ sp. z o.o.
Email: [email protected]