Potato area increases by 8 percent in Flanders

Previously, the European growers' organization North-Western European Potato Growers (FAKE) still assumes a shrinkage in area. This shrinkage is said to be due to a lack of seed potatoes, but in retrospect that turns out to be an incorrect assessment. It now appears that the 2019 harvest year (with regard to the area in Flanders) will go down as a record year. In Wallonia, an emerging cultivation area, the area is also expected to increase by 0,6%.

The increase in the Flemish potato area will largely be achieved by early potatoes. The high market prices of this season have clearly provided this incentive, although this is reinforced by the significantly higher contract prices from the processors. The gap that will arise between the potatoes of the old and new harvest can be filled (if the growing season goes well).

Growth is striking
The growth of the Belgian potato area is nevertheless striking. The Dutch seed potato trading companies already indicated in the winter that seed potato availability could become a problem and that seed potatoes from the early segment in particular would be scarce. PCA does not explain how this problem was ultimately resolved.

The expectation is now that the early acreage will increase by 20% compared to last season. That is a logical development, given that the early potato growers were somewhat cautious about growing early potatoes at the time. This is because there was a surplus of old potatoes at that time (harvest 2017) and market prices have been below €5 per 100 kilos for almost the entire season.

Shift in breed package
In addition, a further shift is taking place within the variety package in Belgium. Flemish growers are abandoning their favorite Bintje variety en masse and switching to the licensed varieties Fontane and Challenger. Bintje's acreage will shrink further in 2019 and it is expected that a decline of 16% will be visible. This decimates the breed into a small 'side breed'. The Fontane variety is the fastest growing variety in Flanders in terms of area (+13%) and is now the largest variety with 50% of the total area.

This is also striking, given that there is still ample stock of seed potatoes of the Bintje variety and this suggests that the seed potato supply of the Fontane and Challenger varieties would become tight (due to the drought last growing season). In Wallonia it has also been observed that the Bintje area is shrinking further (-14%). It is striking that, in contrast to Flanders, the acreage of the Fontane and Innovator varieties appears to be decreasing slightly. In addition, there would actually be a significant increase in Marquis.

Furthermore, the conclusion can be drawn that Belgian potato growers opt for a permanent contract with licensed varieties. This appears to follow the trend of neighboring countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany (with regard to the recording of potatoes).