Pool Aviko shrinks 20 percent due to drought

The 2018/2019 potato season took blood, sweat and tears. Those who could irrigate did so extensively. However, many growers had to passively watch as the summer heat and lack of precipitation decimated the harvest. "The yield differences per company are therefore enormous," notes the Aviko Potato Potato Growers Committee (ATC).

Above stock exchange listing
The average pool price (without pre-sales) across all varieties and for delivery in week 13 is €30,42 per 100 kilos. For the pool with pre-sales, this is €27,28 per 100 kilos. According to the potato processor, this result is slightly above the PotatoNL stock exchange quotation and that is correct, although the difference is small. The stock exchange quotation in the same period amounts to €30,06 per 100 kilos.

The Innovator and Agria varieties yield the most money (in all periods across the pools). The result for the pool without pre-sales in week 13 is €30,07. With pre-sales that is €27,27 per 100 kilos. The group including Victoria, Lady Anna and Marquis is €2,50 and €2 below this respectively. The group with Fontane, Challenger and Bintje is €5 lower in both pools.

Saving pays off
The ATC has ensured that the retention scale has increased considerably for last season. Anyone who still delivers potatoes in week 28 will receive a storage allowance of €8 per 100 kilos. All prices mentioned are exclusive of VAT and exclusive of an average quality surcharge of €0,10 per 100 kilos. €0,03 pool costs will also be deducted from the price.

On average, Aviko's pool growers harvested 46 tons per hectare. This figure is in stark contrast to 2017, when an average of 57 tonnes per hectare was cleared. The final volume of the potato pool was 20% lower than in the 2017 harvest. With an average of 40 tons per hectare in the EU-5, the yield was higher than elsewhere.

Season connections
A windfall for the potato processor was the large volume of the old harvest. This allowed Aviko to continue growing the old harvest until mid-August 2018 and then switch to the small new harvest at a late stage. Production is also more spread out, for example towards the factory in southern Germany. By purchasing more early potatoes and taking advantage of the growing acreage in France, the company believes it has sufficient potatoes for the current period.

After an explosive increase in the export season, the daily price remained stable at around €30 per 100 kilos throughout the storage season. According to the processor, the reason for this is the price level of fries. If the raw material becomes even more expensive, fries buyers will look for frozen potato products elsewhere in the world. "This constant turnover has made it difficult to stand out." The pool with pre-sales is positive, despite the fact that potatoes had already been sold before the price increases.