Consequences of Spanish problem spring noticeable

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture estimates that 96.530 tons of early potatoes will be harvested this season. That is a decrease of 8,5 percent compared to 2016. The area of ​​'extra early (prime) potatoes' is 4.400 hectares. The area of ​​'early potatoes' is 13.800 hectares. That is a decrease of 3,3 percent compared to last year.

Remarkable shrinkage in area
The area shrinkage is remarkable. The Netherlands actually exported more seed potatoes to Spain. This amounted to 38.547 tons up to and including the end of February. Last season that was 30.676 tons. Perhaps other countries have, such as France, less seed potatoes were delivered.

In the coastal province of Murcia, the yield decline of early potatoes is the greatest, at almost 20 percent. That's where most of them were this spring problems with the weather. This despite an area increase of 2,4 percent. An area decrease of more than 18 percent is expected in Murcia for the cultivation of normal early potatoes.

Yield 5 tons per hectare lower
The Canary Islands are also experiencing a small decline in yields. In the province of Andalusia, the yield is actually increasing compared to last year. The 2016 harvest was also lower compared to 2015. In the province of León, an average of 35 tons per hectare was harvested, compared to 40 tons per hectare in 2015. All storage potatoes have now been delivered. A small increase in area for storage potatoes is expected in this province.

Connection of new harvest
The potatoes that are still on the market have a high price level. For Agria people pay more than 300 euros per tonne. Asterix and Desiree are just below that. A smaller area and lower yield are bad news for the potato processing industry in Western Europe, which is looking for a connection between old and new product.