This season it is a struggle for seed exporters to deliver the lots on time. "We are missing certain early areas", admits Gerard Backx of HZPC director.
Yet the consequences for sales in the medium term are not serious, he says. "We can sell those missed volumes elsewhere later, but it is not good for the long term. Customers have to switch to other suppliers and you never know whether they will come back next year." It's not the question. That's normal. "Demand from overseas destinations is good, but not overly good. There have been years when it has been better, but I'm not complaining."
Limited offer
Within the European Union it is a different story. Consumer growers in the Netherlands in particular are not yet ordering seed potatoes. "It is difficult for them to imagine, since they have a large harvest themselves. However, the seed potato yield is moderate. The supply of seed potatoes in the seed sizes is limited; there are many upper sizes. It remains to be seen how this will work out on the markets. but I think there remains a balance due to the limited supply."
Price is a surprise for consumer growers
This means that the price of seed potatoes is comparable to last year, often to the surprise of consumer growers. Even though the demand for certified seed potatoes is lower in years with low consumer prices. "Roughly speaking, good and bad consumption years differ by 10% in demand."
Backx cannot estimate what that says about the payment price of HZPC growers. "There is a lot of excess; it depends on how much you can sell as seed potatoes and what volume ultimately ends up on the current low consumption market. In other words, will it be €0,20 or €0,02? About 1% more or less than Selling seed potatoes clearly makes a difference."