Interseed wants to grow despite shortages

Interseed Holland is a young and small seed potato trading house. The company aims to grow in a market with limited scope. However, these ambitions are hampered by last summer's drought. Henk Feddes, director of Interseed Holland, talks about the influence of the drought, the ambitions and the opportunities.

The seed potato trading house is relatively unknown. How did that happen?
"We are a relatively young and small company and have operated under the radar for a long time. We have now started a professionalization process and we are therefore stepping out more, partly because we need new growers to expand the acreage. The acreage of the Zorba variety is growing. There is a lot of demand for this variety, especially from the processing industry. In addition, promising varieties are coming up that will require acreage."

"We also want to grow in the overseas export of our seed potatoes, partly because on average exports pay better than the processing industry, but also because exports start earlier. This has an advantage for the spread of labour, but also has the advantage that the seed potato growers emptied the shed earlier. It is also a matter of risk spreading."

Is growing in a year with significantly lower yields difficult?
"Drought does indeed mean that the acreage can grow less rapidly this season than we initially wanted. Area expansion has such a high priority this year that Interseed considers the availability of starting material for growers more important than the commercial availability of seed potatoes. therefore priority over commercial availability. Last year 114 hectares of Zorba were cultivated, but that should be expanded this year to about 150 hectares of propagation."

How will you achieve this growth?
"First of all, we are trying to increase the acreage at existing growers. We also need new growers to realize the desired acreage. We want to convince growers, among other things, with our variety package. For example, we are strong in varieties with little scab and virus. at the NAK in the post-control (for virus) is around 25%, with our varieties that percentage is only 2,5%."

"In addition, the payout price is of course also important. We have the opportunity to use the largest part of the oversize as seed potatoes to drop off† As a rule, this results in a better payout price than when it is sold as ware potatoes."

How can a small player compete with the bigger companies?
“Interseed Holland has a larger company behind it, where the varieties also come from: Interseed Germany. The breeding company of the Interseed group is located in the north of Germany, in Carolienziel. Our focus is on the French fries segment. That is why all seedlings are tested by a team of experts to ensure that they meet the requirements of the processing industry. In order to compete as a smaller player against the larger companies, we also offer more intensive contact with the growers, partly through shorter lines.”

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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