Thousands of tons of seed potatoes left over

Many will remember the stories of the seed potato trading companies that announced that it was sometimes very... carp could be achieved when it comes to sufficient seed potatoes for planting consumption potatoes for French fries cultivation. In particular, the yields of the early seed potato varieties were so disappointing that buyers had to take into account significantly lower availability.

Perfect year for Bintje?
For example, Agrico announced on October 12 that it had 40% less seed potatoes. With the later chip potato varieties, the yield reduction was less, but it still raised concerns about whether enough would eventually become available. The more or less comparable varieties were offered as an alternative, in order to accommodate buyers with multi-year contracts. In addition, it was a blessing in disguise that the pots were finer than average. It could have been a perfect year for seed potatoes of the Bintje variety, mainly to fill the gaps left by the Monopoly varieties.

However, in mid-May 2019, nothing that was said in the fall seems to have even touched the core. The reality is that today, thousands of tonnes of all kinds of varieties are looking for alternative sales. The prices vary between €10 and €15, a price level that costs the parties involved a lot of money. The number of growers would represent a chip consumption area of ​​10.000 to 15.000 hectares. Does this also mean that different types of seed potatoes were used for a similar area? According to critics, there are in any case many irregularities numerically.

Expansion of chip potato area
With a strong expansion of the acreage of chip potatoes for the 2019/2020 season, it is an incongruous development. Because where does all the seed potatoes used for the current acreage come from? And was there even a seed potato shortage, or was it a feigned innocence? Finally, what relationship is there between seed potato fraud and seed potato shortages? These are questions worth asking, but not easy to answer. We'll try anyway:

1. The seed potato shortage has contributed to the fact that all sizes of the popular chip varieties have been used to meet demand: 25/28 up to and including the upper size. The 'deviating' qualities, which may be traded, also contribute.
2. The use of alternative varieties, which in a normal situation would be used less or not at all for the cultivation of French fries, also plays a role.
3. The fine grading allowed for more area to be planted.
4. De seed potato fraud undoubtedly made a contribution. A QR code on the certificate, with which the recipient of the seed potatoes can check whether the seed potatoes have been marketed through the correct channels, could provide a solution to this.
5. The seed potato supply for the monopoly varieties in the Netherlands is so compartmentalized (trading house to processing industry) that some parties see no other options than to be creative. In short: the opportunity creates the thief.
6. The last elements that can be mentioned are the development of the area for own use. This has quadrupled since 2004 and is causing a change in demand for monopoly seed potatoes.

In any case, it is a fact that Bintje has not played any role in compensating for any of the expected seed potato shortage. This will decimate this breed even faster. It will drastically change the nature of the free seed potato trade in chip varieties, because the risks can no longer be overseen and hedged.