With the lack of rain in the main early growing areas of Belgium, future rain in those areas seems to come too late. The early potatoes are labeled a total fiasco by growers and traders.
The crops simply had too little water, after planting out and in many areas along the coast, irrigation is not possible because of brackish water. Yields of under 20 tonnes are reported on some plots where a plot of 30 tonnes is considered a top performer. The poor yield forces processors from those areas to look for alternatives. And it works at first.
Old harvest gives air
Higher French fries stocks mean that they switch back a notch in processing. In addition, there are still old harvest potatoes available, which also gives some air. The transition to the early potatoes can therefore be done gradually. Moreover, a number of processors already had foresight, by setting up crops in the Bordeaux area, where the harvest now takes place and where good yields also come from. The supply of table potatoes for which there is no demand from packers and exporters (due to the large supply of southern European potatoes) also provides some relief.
Cover for each other
So until the end of August most coverage seems to have been arranged, which also explains the relatively calm mood in the physical market. However, the period after the very first early one still gives some headaches, especially for the Belgian and French processors.
Upscaling processing
It is precisely those potatoes that are received locally a lot and that is also the period in which the processors go to great lengths to bring the processing to 100%. This (mid) early harvest will not be sufficiently present in the dry growing areas. This means that people will have to move to areas where the harvest has been successful.
The (Eastern) Netherlands and Germany in particular seem to be getting a good harvest during that period. The Belgian and French processors will therefore have to look outside their national borders in order to get the raw material supply up to standard.
Prices for early potatoes are now around €20 and are falling by €1 per week. Interest is around €15 for the period at the beginning of August.