More than 60% of the ware potatoes in the Netherlands had been planted at the end of week 17. However, planting is still lagging behind in previous years. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries. This is apparent from figures from Aviko Potato.
Compared to the 20% that at week 16 had been planted, a major improvement was achieved in week 17. The largest share has been planted in Flevoland (almost 90%). This while progress in Flevoland was still 20% last week.
The other regions that are not far behind are the Betuwe and Limburg. About 70% of the potatoes were planted there. In the north of the country and in the Noordoostpolder, almost 40% still needs to be dug into the ground.
Annoyance from the rain
People are furthest behind in the south-west of the country. In the province of Zeeland, 45% of the potatoes have been planted, while in North Brabant this is 50%. In North Holland, 30% of the potatoes are in the ground. The rain on the start of the week has had a slowing effect.
Particularly in the southern areas, farmers do not expect to be able to return to the fields until the end of this week or the beginning of next week. All in all, we in the Netherlands are considerably behind last year, when almost all potatoes had already been planted in week 17.
European situation
Other European countries are also lagging behind considerably. For example, less than 40% has been planted in the United Kingdom, only 50% in Flanders and just under 20% still needs to be planted in Wallonia. In Germany, almost all potatoes are in the ground, while in France more than 20% still have to be planted.