The announced price jump of a few weeks ago has come true. The supply of potatoes is drying up and there are not many free potatoes available anymore.
Due to the increasing export demand from Eastern and Southern European countries, the ingredients are present for a further price jump. Another important factor is the cold, non-growing weather. This ensures that the development of the early potatoes lags behind the desired result.
Backlog of early potatoes
Various cultivation specialists report that the early potato harvest (due to the cold). backlog has lasted 6 to 10 days. It is fortunate that frost damage is generally not too bad. It does not seem possible to catch up on this backlog. After all, there is no way to make potatoes grow faster, they simply need 100 growing days to produce results. This seems to rule out a transition in week 27 or 28.
Early potato cultivation in Bordeaux also appears to have lagged behind in development. Various sources from this growing area report that the forecast start date of the harvest has been postponed by 1 week.
Export continues
According to various exporters, exports to Southern and Eastern Europe are going excellently. There is a lot of demand, at good prices. The price is mainly determined by the quality and around €27 is paid for mediocre quality. Mainly the pots that are left over and widely available are used for this. The excellent product goes to Spain and Italy; be for that top prices to make. This week this market even peaked at €41,50; this price was paid by an exporter for a sublime batch from mechanical cooling in boxes.
The chip potato market shows a stark contrast to the export market. The factories report that they are not interested in purchasing and are only making a market for co-delivered kilos. These are charged at around €30. Processors all implement the same 'sitting-duck strategy' and sit still, waiting to see what the transition to the new season will bring. There is not much choice, because buying more potatoes before the end of the old season seems difficult. Simply because there are not many free potatoes for sale anymore.
In short: a gap in the position of 40.000 tons is not easily covered. The alternative is to reduce the production of fries and switch off the baking ovens early (pending the harvest of the early potatoes). The mutual exchange of potatoes between the different processors is also examined on the left and right.
Minimal movements
In any case, the chip potato market will move minimally for the time being, pending further growth. In addition, processors are currently facing a major challenge with a view to the quality of the potatoes to be processed. These appear to be physiologically more aged than in other years and therefore contain a lot of sugars, which makes baking more difficult.