With the transition from the old to the new season, it is always exciting how the price of new potatoes will start.
The processors employ various strategies, depending on their coverage in the old harvest. For example, there are factories that have set up early cultivation in Bordeaux and others have been closed for a longer period of time to carry out major maintenance. The strategy also depends on the stock of fries in cold stores and whether their suppliers (growers) have long storage options.
Especially in a transition from a season in which there was scarcity, the strategy has a major impact on the prices of the new season. Processors have been pursuing different strategies in recent weeks and this was reflected last weekend.
Large volumes of water
After Belgapom's listing, large volumes of water fell in parts of Europe. This caused the clearing work to come to a standstill in a number of areas. A large Belgian processor in particular suffered greatly from this. This processor had opted for the strategy of switching to early potatoes as quickly as possible and no longer holds a position in old potatoes. The stock of fries in the cold stores has also been reduced to a minimum for many. This is to avoid entering the new season with expensive stock of fries.
This processor had to enter the market to keep the factory running. This caused a price rally of €8 in the span of 6 hours. The processor decided to enter the Dutch market in order to keep the Belgian market calm. Prices of up to €25 were paid for Première, but large lots of old potatoes were also purchased. Lots that were still in storage here, but were no longer considered suitable for processing.
Aftereffects of the action
The Belgian market therefore remained calm and rose to €20 for Première ex-country, but this week there are still after-effects of the action of this Belgian processor. Prices are fixed for direct delivery and in countries around Belgium are well above €20 ex-country. The question is how this translates into next Friday's Belgapom.
It is striking that there is very little purchasing interest from processing industries throughout Northwestern Europe in the coming weeks. Offering potatoes for delivery week 31 to 33 does not actually generate any bids.