The situation in the Belgian potato market has stabilised again, according to Jurgen Duthoo of Warnez. "There was a price correction in late February and early March, but that was related more to the processing industry than to consumer potatoes. However, when looking at the sharply falling Belgapom quotation, the first impression is that there are too many potatoes on the market and that prices are continuing to decline. There is still some turbulence in the processing industry, but overall, the market seems to have recovered, particularly due to problems in southern Europe," says the trader from the Tielt-based company.
"Certainly at the level of ware potatoes for export, prices have stabilised again," Jurgen continues. "Exports continue in all directions. Volumes to Eastern and Southern Europe are increasing, largely due to the situation in Spain and Portugal. We were shown a precipitation map—something we had already heard about from our Spanish colleagues—which showed that over the past two months, Spain and Portugal experienced 50 days of rain. In comparison, Belgium had only three to four days."
© Guido Cioni
Gap in the Spanish season
The trader notes that this is having major consequences for the Spanish crop. "Everything looked very promising back in February. It was mentioned at the Berlin fair that the season would start in early April, as everything had been planted under ideal conditions. But now the situation looks completely different. In Seville and Cartagena (southern Spain), there are major issues due to entire fields being flooded. In Valladolid and Salamanca (northern Spain), a colleague told us last week that by now, 50 percent should have been planted, but they were only at 5 percent. So planting has been seriously delayed."
"The conclusion is that there is a high likelihood of a gap in the Spanish season," Jurgen continues. "Southern Spain will still harvest, but the crop will likely face some quality issues, and northern Spain will come in later, with a large portion of the harvest likely absorbed by the domestic market. In addition, there is growing concern about Israeli potatoes. Some retailers are avoiding Israeli origin due to the political situation, so they will also be looking to Spain soon. All these factors support the current price level, which has stabilised, and suggest it will remain firm. Therefore, I don't expect prices to fall again anytime soon—on the contrary. We're currently in a stable market with rising demand, so prices can only follow that trend."
© Warnez
Will the turbulence then be completely behind us? "Well, the price correction has occurred, but it was mainly related to the processing industry. That turbulence still exists. Looking at the US—a major market for European fries—there is concern about potential trade tariffs from Trump. This has made the European industry nervous about possibly losing that market. On top of that, production is growing in countries like Egypt, which is rapidly expanding its frozen segment, and China, which is serving parts of the Asian market. As a result, Europe is losing market share there as well. Who knows—maybe the EU will respond?"
For more information:
Jurgen Duthoo
Warnez Potatoes
Marialoopsesteenweg 2L
B-8700 - Tielt - Belgium
Tel: +32 051 400812
info@warnezpotatoes.be
www.warnezpotatoes.be