Seed potato shortage in early varieties causes tension

Potato trading house Agrico informed its regular customers (chip factories) on Friday, October 12, that they have significantly fewer seed potatoes. The volume of the early French fries variety Première is 40% lower. It is precisely in this off-land segment that processors have maximum demand for potatoes, in order to match the short old harvest with the new one.

Succumbed to the heat
Jan van Hoogen, director of Agrico, confirms the figures. "The differences in yields per variety are very large. The later chip potato varieties have done better," Van Hoogen explains. "The early varieties were destroyed by the heat of this summer. This also explains the significantly lower yield."

Potato processors find the shortage difficult to digest, although discussions about the details have yet to take place. "As an alternative, we offer the Sinora variety, which is also an early chip variety," says Van Hoogen. "Première has the name, which is why preference is given to this variety. Sinora is at least 1 week later, but pre-sprouting can overcome this somewhat."

In addition to the lower yield, the seed potatoes are also finer this year. "This means that there are 40% fewer absolute tons, which may result in a shortage of 25%. This is because you plant fewer tons per hectare."

Disappointed processors
The news that there is a seed potato shortage is not something processors were waiting for. They say they are disappointed in the reporting. "A shortage of 40% sounds like bad planning," says a processor who has a 3-year agreement with the trading company. "On July 1, everyone knew how dry it was and where it was going. I find it disappointing to only report on October 12. The only reason I can think of is that Agrico wants to prevent consumer potato growers from keeping the undersize back for planting."

In addition to Agrico, HZPC has also informed its regular customers that certain varieties are less available. A puzzle begins for the factories to ensure that the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons fit together properly. The big uncertain factor here is the weather. Will it be an early or late spring? What are the growing conditions?

Gap between old and new harvest
Even in a positive scenario you are talking about a gap of 2 to 4 weeks, insiders acknowledge. It is not an option to import potatoes elsewhere from Europe. They simply aren't there. Some processors are making up for the gap by growing more potatoes in Southern Europe. However, the quality is not comparable to that of Première. The old harvest is handled extra sparingly.

An additional advantage, however, is that the old harvest continued until August 1, 2018. This advantage is now being nullified. Exact tons for the 2018 harvest are not available, but with current knowledge of the late storage varieties, it is not easy. "In such a year we could use 200% Première. Instead you hear that it is 40% less," says an insider.

"In reality, this may be even less. For us, it is about the missed acreage, not the kilos." According to the processors, the shortage situation has no consequences for the price that consumption potato growers pay. This has been established for several years and remains the same, regardless of the final delivery.

Seed potato quality
In some cases, seed potato quality is a minor point of concern. The potatoes already appear to be very germinating. The dry harvesting conditions are partly positive, but in combination with a high underwater weight they have caused more harvesting damage. This problem applies to all seed potato varieties.