Polish potato harvest has second disaster in a row

Last year, Poland harvested 7,5 million tons of potatoes. For this year, experts calculate a total volume of 6,51 million tons. That is 20% below the 5-year average. After an extremely wet autumn in 2017, 2018 started with good soil moisture availability. Subsequently it remained very dry during the season. Even in winter it hardly rained or snowed.

Situation worse than 2018
This means that it is still extremely dry in Poland, making the situation more problematic than 1 year ago. During a press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday, July 31, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, the Minister of Agriculture, said that 1.100 municipalities are affected by drought. In addition, approximately 1,5 million hectares of crops suffer from drought and it is regularly very hot from spring onwards.

The agricultural statistics office estimates the total Polish area this year at 310.000 hectares. The total area has therefore made a significant jump: 12.000 hectares, good for a growth of 4,2%. This growth is particularly noticeable among professional growers of table and chip potatoes. The industrial segment in particular is growing. The backyard market is also growing after the expensive potato season.

Little rain
The driest is the worst in the southwest of the country. It is also dry in the north, but some showers have recently fallen here. The showers usually have a local character, meaning there is no relief. Irrigation is done on a small scale, mainly at the large potato companies.

Due to the precipitation, many crops experience overgrowth. The Marquis breed experiences the most problems. Due to the recent heat of July, Innovator plots are in strong decline. If it still rains, the precipitation will arrive too late for these plots. The tubers are medium fine and have a low underwater weight.

Price at a fixed high level
After a dip when the harvesting of early potatoes started in June, the price has bounced back. He has been a permanent fixture for several weeks now. Growers receive the equivalent of €40 per 100 kilos for table potatoes. Potatoes for processing are traded at slightly lower prices. It is therefore not surprising that products for Poland are purchased in the Netherlands. This situation is also noticeable in onions, where grower prices have reached a level of €50 per 100 kilos due to the drought. Dutch onions are therefore gradually moving to the east.

Many growers decide to take advantage of the higher prices and harvest green potatoes, without the potatoes having firm skin. They are afraid that a lot of imports from the west could bring down the market in the country. Just like in 2018, contract growers choose to sell their potatoes on the open market, instead of fully delivering their contracts. Processors are at a loss.

West sees his chance
The fear of the import of cheap(er) potatoes from the west is well-founded. Last season, the United Kingdom exported almost 15.000 tons of table potatoes to this country, reports AHDB Potato. Normally Germany and France are the largest suppliers, but now the United Kingdom has 20% of the market. It is also dry in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which is noticeable in the export figures. Germany and France are again not expected to be the export engine, because they are also harvesting fewer potatoes due to dry conditions.

With about 4 weeks to go until the main harvest starts in Poland, it is becoming increasingly clear that 2019 will turn out even worse for the country. Yields on all crops are catastrophically poor. The little bit of precipitation that falls does not bring relief. Extreme temperatures have caused the greatest damage. The country thus creates an important floor in the market.