After the introduction of the anti-dumping measures on French fries by Brazil, European French fries exports to the South American country held up well at the start of this year. In April, the cards for the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are less favorable. Competitors take advantage of this.
During the month of April, it is mainly the Netherlands that has to suffer from the Brazilian anti-dumping measure. The export volume decreased by no less than 63 percent (compared to a year earlier), to 2.420 tons of frozen potato products. These are mainly fries potatoes.
Belgium and Germany also recorded a minus. This amounts to 9,7 and 5,2 percent respectively. This does keep the damage somewhat limited. For our southern neighbors the volume is almost 6.200 tons, 600 tons comes from Germany. France, which is also subject to the measures, has managed to expand exports. The volume was more than a quarter higher compared to the same month in 2016, but amounted to only 272 tons. That is a completely different bandwidth than the Netherlands operates on
Poland as a back door
Argentina, the largest supplier of fries to their neighboring country, also has to make concessions. The volume decreased by 10 percent to 12.000 tons. This means that the difference with number 2, Belgium, is considerable. The US saw its export volume increase by 20 percent to 755 tons in April. The country is clearly benefiting from the fact that the levy is making it more difficult for Western European industry. McCain and Farm Frites use their factories in Poland to get fries to Brazilians. The exported volume suddenly amounts to 250 tons.
Price as a means of success
The average price of fries and total monetary turnover also decreased in April. The price per tonne in real terms fell, especially for fries from the US, by more than 30 percent in April. This partly explains the increased exports. Belgium (-16 percent) and France (-14 percent) are also losing ground. In the Netherlands, the price reduction remains fairly limited, at 8 percent. On average, a ton of fries is priced 6 percent cheaper than in April 2016. Total turnover therefore fell by a quarter in April. Here too, the Netherlands is at the top, with 66 percent less financial turnover due to the export of fries.
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