While most of the potatoes have been harvested in the Netherlands and other Western European countries, the potato harvest in England is just getting started. Arable farmers wait as long as possible to take advantage of regrowth. What is the situation on the other side of the channel?
Significant rain fell in England last week. This rain was welcome for the dry east, while the wet west received too much rain. In western Wales, 200 millimeters fell in one day in some places. In the county of Shropshire, which borders Wales, so much rain fell that rivers overflowed. This delayed the harvest in the west.
Although rain delayed the harvest in the east for a while, it came as expected because it is still extremely dry there. In the east the harvest is further advanced and the light rains make harvesting easier.
Harvest starts late
The harvest starts relatively late. Arable farmers have waited a long time to start clearing so that they can benefit from regrowth. It also took a long time for the potato crop to die.
Actually, this should also be seen through the lens of the entire season. There was still snow in England in April and it remained wet and cold for a long time. As a result, planting was done extremely late. This was followed by an extremely warm and dry summer. The entire growing season has therefore been postponed.
Low yields
What are the yields like in such a season? The British trade association; Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) does not yet have a forecast because yields vary so widely across the country. However, insiders expect an average yield of 40 to 45 tons. In the South East, yields are reasonable (45 to 50 tons per hectare), while in the main production regions in the east, non-irrigated plots reach 25 tons per hectare, AHDB reports.
That also makes a big difference in England: whether or not irrigation could take place. About half of the area in England can be irrigated. But yields are also lower on this part of the area, according to the AHDB.
Quality issues
It's not just yields that are a problem. The quality is also often nothing to write home about. AHDB reports that there is a lot of growth in the potatoes. In Scotland, yields and quality are generally good.
The total harvest in England is not only lower due to the lower yields. Due to the low potato prices in 2017, the area also decreased by 3% compared to 2017. The total area now amounts to 119.000 hectares, the third lowest area in years.
Availability of fries potatoes
Due to the shortage in the country, people would normally rely on potatoes from the Netherlands and Belgium, but it is clear that this cannot be met this season. There are concerns about availability in particular for French fries potatoes, which is why potatoes with high dry matter contents from the table potato segment are currently being used for French fries.