This year's domestic sweet potato campaign has started particularly well. "The cold, wet weather in the summer led to a 15 percent decline in yields compared to last year. However, we were fortunate that the qualities were consistently outstanding and that we had to accept less feeding and crop damage. This contributed significantly to the fact that the net yield was ultimately close to the level of the previous year," summarizes the Lower Rhine sweet potato grower Andreas Pottbäcker.
Over the years, Pottbäcker has established a stable sales market that consists of both retail and wholesale customers. "Our packaged goods in 500g trays go mainly to the regional Edeka central warehouses, which in turn also serve the online supermarket Picnic. We continue to see encouraging growth in the latter segment in particular. Our loose goods in EPS trays are mainly offered in food retail, i.e., at Edeka stores throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. Here, sales are at a stable, high level. Otherwise, we supply several wholesale partners, including Von der Stein from Essen and, since last year, the wholesale branch of Landgard eG."
Since last year, a special harvesting method from VSS AMAC has been used so that the harvest workers can work ergonomically. The sweet potatoes are harvested in September, and the new marketing season usually starts at the end of October.
Year-round supply of sweet potatoes from the Lower Rhine
Intending to be able to offer regional sweet potatoes all year round, Pottbäcker invested in new storage capacity and state-of-the-art software in 2023. According to the farmer, the investments have now borne fruit. "In last year's marketing season 23/24, we succeeded in following up on the new harvest in September for the first time. That was an important milestone for us, of course. Nevertheless, we noticed that the tubers became significantly lighter towards the end of the season. There was sometimes a weight loss of up to a quarter compared to the unit weight immediately after harvest. However, this is probably also because we had newly renovated the roof of our storage hall, which is why we could not run the ventilation for a few weeks."
© Pottbäcker Markt- und Kartoffelhandel GmbH
Andreas Pottbäcker (here during a company visit from FreshPlaza.de in 2023) has been growing sweet potatoes since 2017. Despite rising production costs, the producer prices of his sweet potatoes remained almost stable.
German sweet potato: From hype product to stable niche
The Bellevue variety accounts for around 70 percent of his harvest volume, followed by Orleans (20 percent) and Bayou Belle (10 percent). The Sakura variety is new to the portfolio and is currently being produced on a trial basis. "In terms of net yield and appearance, the Bellevue is still unbeatable, although this also depends heavily on the weather. Last year, for example, the Orleans did comparatively better."
All in all, Pottbäcker is confident about the future. "Demand is increasing, and I have the impression that the sweet potato has developed from a hyped vegetable to a staple in the diet, finding particular favor with the younger consumer group," he concludes.
Photo credit: Pottbäcker Markt- und Kartoffelhandel GmbH
For more information:
Andreas Pottbäcker
Pottbäcker Markt- und Kartoffelhandel GmbH
Kengen 39
47509 Rheurdt
Tel: +49 2833 1447
Fax: +49 2833 97127
info@pottbaecker.com
www.pottbaecker.com