Drought threatens potato start-up

Although there was some rain here and there on Sunday, May 21, and there was even a cloudburst in Deventer, the chance of precipitation in the coming week is very small. This means that the precipitation deficit in the Netherlands will continue to increase. According to the KNMI, the precipitation deficit is above average in mid-May.

No reels yet
The drought threatens a good start of the potato harvest in the Netherlands, but also in Belgium and Germany. However, Ferdi Buffen from trading house Weuthen in Schwalmtal, Germany, does not expect the reels to appear immediately. 'For this it must remain dry for another 10 days. However, growers of early potatoes will then fully irrigate their plots.' Of the early areas in the Rhineland, the Phalz and Lower Saxony, 90 percent can be irrigated.

Backlog not caught up
The backlog caused by the night frost at the end of April has not yet been caught up. 'The crops have recovered well over the past 14 days, but that does not mean that the potatoes will be available from June 1. I don't expect the first large volumes to hit the market until week 29. Precursors arrive a week earlier. The European processing industry will have to make do with old raw material until mid-July. New harvest can be processed from July 15.'