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Inside Potatoes

Quotes in Belgium in stark contrast to PotatoNL

11 April 2019

After the Belgapom quotation showed an extreme decrease on Friday 5 April, the question this week was whether the other quotations in Belgium (PCA/Fiwap) and the surrounding countries (France and the Netherlands) would follow.

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Belgapom has not yet made a summer with 1 swallow. The Dutch market even feels this way today firmer than last week. This feeling was also confirmed by the PotatoNL quotation on Thursday, April 11. Although the quotation for 'category 1' was on average €0,25 per 100 kilos lower (€29 to €31), category 2, on the other hand, was €1,25 per 100 kilos higher (€31 to €34).

The price difference between the average quotes used for the cash settlement of the Netherlands (€31,35), Germany (€28,37) and those of Belgium (€24,67) is enormous and is also difficult to explain. The average quote from France (€26,83) is sucked into the negative sentiment of the Belgian market, but is still more than €2 higher.

Market feels better
At the beginning of week 15, the blow to the physical potato market, as a result of the significant reduction in Belgapom, was still reverberating; all the buyers in the market drew their water. However, a few days later (end of week 15) the market feels better again, which is also supported by higher bids from various buyers of, for example, Fontane. The offer is very limited.

There is also no offer in Belgium, based on the quotations in that country. This does not say anything about Belgapom's listing on Friday, April 12, because if there have been no transactions, the stock exchange's committee can opt for unchanged. After all, the quotation is based on the number of transactions made. It is remarkable that within a radius of less than 400 kilometers the price difference is so large. In this phase of the market, a Belgian grower with free potatoes is better off with buyers from surrounding countries.

Thin market
The market is currently extremely thin, especially because the volume of free potatoes is (very) limited in almost the entire EU-4. The lack of demand, alternating with the lack of supply, makes the market erratic and unpredictable in the coming period. The growers who still have some product to sell seem reluctant to make offers. This also means that storage is still fine, given the cold nights.

Furthermore, growers are busy with work on the land. There are also reports that the development of crops in early growing areas (mainly due to the cold weather) is starting to lag somewhat behind. These are also ingredients that can play a role towards the end of the still long season.

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