News Potatoes
NEPG: 'No new insights for harvest'
North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) concludes that the 2019 potato harvest in the EU-5 is slightly above the 5-year average. This is mainly due to an increased acreage. It sees opportunities for export in Eastern Europe, although the harvest there is disappointing.
For the EU-5 (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and the United Kingdom), the NEPG estimates the consumption potato harvest at 27 million to 27,3 million tons. This is 3% more than the 5-year average and 12% above last year's yield. The organization bases this estimate on the trial harvesting figures, but emphasizes that the largest part is still in the ground. It therefore offers no new insights.
Area increase in France
The growth in the potato volume is mainly caused by the increase in the acreage; only the United Kingdom does not see an increase in surface area. Compared to the 5-year average, France is even experiencing an acreage increase of 14%, according to the organization. Across all countries, the yield estimate per hectare is 44,7 tons, compared to 47,1 tons on average.
The differences between countries, regions and races are large. That is why it is difficult to speak of an average. The lowest yields are expected in Belgium and the crops have died off in Germany and France. As a result, little regrowth is taken into account in those countries. The potatoes are greener in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Only the United Kingdom is expected to achieve an average yield.
Rising price expected
Despite an above-average harvest, NEPG estimates that the price on the mainland could rise in the coming weeks. This is because the factories demand more potatoes. After all, this season started with empty sheds. According to them, the pricing has been disrupted, because the early potatoes came on the market at the same time, causing the price to fall.
That may be an unusual conclusion. Boerenbusiness calculated earlier, based on own research, that the processing capacity in the European Union is between 24 million and 27,2 million tons. The potato harvest, as predicted by NEPG, can cover the need well. NEPG thinks that Eastern Europe remains a demanding market, due to the smaller own harvest. At the moment, many potatoes are already going to Poland and Romania.
The EEX potato futures market supported the idea of a rising market on Monday 9 September. The price of the April contract closed on Monday at €15 per 100 kilos, which is an increase of €0,30 with the closing of Friday 6 September. In mid-October, NEPG will publish a new harvest estimate for the EU-5.
Niels van der Boom
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