A significantly lower seed potato yield mainly affects the early potato harvest next year. The shortage is acute in the very early varieties. The effect of the dry summer is also noticeable in the varieties before the main harvest, although large differences are noticeable.
Seed potato trading companies and chip factories generally make multi-year agreements for the supply of seed potatoes. This provides certainty for both parties and a stable price level. This year, trading houses are leaving their regular customers know not being able to meet the obligations in all cases.
Early varieties
The bottleneck is mainly with the early varieties, especially Première. This creates a possible (large) gap between the connection of the old and new harvest. Even though the old harvest (1) was used for 2017 month longer, this connection becomes a challenge due to the significantly smaller volume of the 2018 harvest.
John van Hoogen
Seed potato trading house Agrico informs factories that it has 40% less Première available. “The yield of the Fontane variety has been much better,” says director Jan van Hoogen. “The late potato varieties have done better than the early ones. They suffered a lot from the heat.”
Less Innovator
According to director Gerard Backx, HZPC also has significantly fewer tons: “As a rule, we can talk about at least 20% to 25% less yield. There are major racial differences. We have varieties with a 10% lower yield, but also varieties with a maximum of 50% lower yield.” The trading house has informed potato processors that they will have at least 15% less seed potatoes of the Innovator and Ivory Russet varieties.
“It is not always possible to meet the obligations,” Backx agrees. “We also want to be able to serve customers who have been regular customers for years, but do not have a multi-year contract. We must therefore handle stocks in a calculated manner and in close consultation with customers."
"In addition, the parties have a finer size sorting. This means that more hectares can be planted with fewer tons. Ultimately, it is about the amount of area that can be planted.”
Seed potato quality
A major setback for many seed potato growers is the reduction percentage. This amounted to more than 40% in week 25. Van Hoogen and Backx did not expect it to have a direct influence on the consumption area. It is mainly a problem in the maintenance and development of healthy seed potatoes. The dry harvesting conditions this autumn are favorable when it comes to bacterial diseases. The virus infection rate, on the other hand, is high. Some breeds also have to deal with scab problems. Growers note that batches are already very germinative in storage.
Thanks to the tight situation with seed potatoes, trading houses expect more of their own seed potatoes either; farm saved seed (FSS) will be used. This means that consumer growers sort out and plant out the undersized themselves. The rules for this differ per country. It is a fact that in years of scarcity the use of fraudulent seed potatoes also increases. Watchdog Breeders Trust strictly monitors this.
Which factor influences the most?
The key question remains what influence a shortage of seed potatoes has on the acreage. Fewer tons have been harvested, but the size sorting is better. This means that fewer tonnes need to be planted per hectare. The exact consequence for the surface area remains guesswork, just like the FSS share. “I don't expect the area to be much smaller,” Backx thinks. “The grain price has a greater influence on the expected acreage in Europe. This is the alternative to potato cultivation.”