News Potatoes
Will the Belgian harvest recover?
Claims experts in Belgium report that yields in the country will be much lower than previously thought. The newspaper Het Belang van Limburg writes about this. All crops have to deal with significantly lower yields. In the potatoes, the decrease is from 30% to even 50%.
The main culprit of the low yields is the heat wave that occurred at the end of July. In a interview With 'Het Belang van Limburg', Sofie Scherpereel says that the damage of €50 million, which was previously estimated, was underestimated.
Early potatoes are disappointing
Despite the lower temperatures and some rainfall, all crops struggled to recover in August. In some places, the damage has even worsened. Scherpereel speaks of a yield loss of 50% or more with the (early) potato harvest. For the main harvest, a lower yield of 30% is taken into account. The growers are negatively surprised when they start harvesting.
The other crops are also quite affected. Fruit and vegetable crops have been hit even harder. A reduction in yield of 80% is estimated for the onions. The Belgian growers therefore hope that an agricultural disaster will be declared, which would make them eligible for compensation. It is also the last time that this is possible, because Belgium is also switching to a broad weather insurance.
No rain
The crops are expected to recover only slightly. Little to no rain is forecast for the next 2 weeks. The rain of the past few weeks was mainly local and sometimes in large quantities, combined with hail. That also causes damage.
The precipitation map of the potato institute PCA shows very different amounts of precipitation in July: from barely 20 millimeters to 100 millimeters. It shows the local character of the showers. The first 3 weeks of August have not changed much. In particular, the east of Belgium has had some precipitation. The south and southwest will remain dry.
Yield Fontane
PCA is slightly less negative about the main harvest and records heterogeneous yields. The Fontane variety comes in at 30 to 40 tons per hectare in this sampling. However, there are also areas where the yield is higher than this. On average, Flanders scores better than Wallonia. It does note that the crops are very worn out.
Due to the aging of the foliage and a lack of precipitation, not much is expected in terms of regrowth. This is especially the case for Bintje. Fontane and Challenger are doing slightly better, but here too regrowth is a challenge. Bintje and Agria also have to contend with through growth.
De potato futures market opened Monday morning, August 19, higher at €12,50 per 100 kilos for the April contract. On Friday, August 16, the market closed at €12.
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Niels van der Boom
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