Potato Crop Update

Posted on 27/06/2011 in News

In 6 to 7 weeks we hope to make the switch from crop 2010 to crop 2011, as the main crop potatoes were planted earlier this year.

A dry spring with nice dry soils and warm temperatures enabled farmers to plant the potatoes about three weeks earlier than normal.

Crop 2010 was a moderate yield and potato quality. For instance, the length of the tubers was shorter than normal, caused by a late development of the crop, coupled with hot and dry weather in June and July and a very cold and wet end to the growing season.

Due to crop failure in Russia and the CEE countries, caused by hot and dry conditions during development and growing, we faced a continuous demand for fresh potatoes for the export market, which lead to a boost in prices. The early planting of crop 2011 changed the market sentiment, alleviating the fear for shortage of potatoes at the end of the season.

Prices decreased in March and April, but nature once again took its toll with an ongoing lack of rain causing drought and delaying growth of the crop. Prices of the old crop and future prices of the new crop then started to increase again.

Currently we face drought in Holland and Belgium in particular, where the crops are suffering from a lack of water. As there are no official figures available yet about the acreage of potatoes in Europe, it is too early to predict anything about the new crop, but we don't anticipate any major changes. We do know, however, that a large or a poor harvest will have a much greater impact in the availability of potatoes than the increase or decrease of the European acreage.

 

Jan Willem Peters

Aviko Potatoes