Not only did Beurs Emmeloord's chip potato quotation this season start lower than in the previous 2 seasons, on Thursday 19 October there was no quotation at all.
It is not easy for the stock exchange committee in Emmeloord to list potatoes suitable for fries before week 42, at a time when the futures market has dropped to the €5 per 100 kilo level.
From week 36 to week 41, the Emmeloord stock exchange recorded €4 to €5 and the committee announced that this was only achieved through transactions involving co-supplied potatoes. The practice of listing raises questions, as a quote (in general form) can only be compiled on the basis of transactions made (which were not there); How can one then achieve a listing?
Trade paper thin
On Thursday, October 19, it was apparently decided not to record at all. "Trade was already wafer-thin and the committee thought the trade this week was just insufficient to record," explains discussion leader Maas van den Heuvel. "Supplied potatoes are transactions that have always been included, but this week the number of transactions made in this segment was also minimal. Trade has simply come to a complete standstill."
Maas notes that co-delivery potatoes are often paid slightly better than the agreed price for the lot. “I notice in the transaction lists that the chip industry is more likely to give a quarter or half cent more for co-delivery potatoes rather than less. This is to retain the growers' loyalty for the following year.”