French fries varieties fail in regrowth

Now that we have reached the second half of September, we can slowly draw up a balance for the main harvest of French fries potatoes in Europe. A careful start has been made with this. Yield figures from the Benelux and France show that the yield is particularly disappointing in the south of Belgium and France. This is also the case for the Netherlands, according to insiders.

Fontane stays behind
Fiwap, PCA, Carah and Inagro arrive at 37 tons per hectare net (42 millimeters upwards) on the basis of the trial harvesting of the most important chip potato variety (Fontane) for week 35. The spread between the Flemish and French-speaking parts remains evident: no less than 11 tons per hectare. The 11 sampled Walloon plots have an average net weight of 36 tonnes. Bintje is at 33 tons there and in Flanders at 43 tons (an average of 38 tons per hectare).

This means that the growth curve for both varieties is below that of the 2016 season and the phenomenal regrowth from 2017 is completely out of the picture. Only last year the yield was even lower. The multi-year average of Fontane is 46 tons per hectare, where the variety is now 9% below. For Bintje this is a minus of 12%.

Plots far matured
The underwater weight shows that all plots are reaching their end, with an average weight of 418 grams (410 grams is average). About 70% are now in the size 50 millimeters or higher. This makes them slightly less coarse, which is especially the case in Wallonia. There, 64% of Fontane's samples are 50 millimeters or coarser. On average, more than half of the foliage is worn out.

The crops have already had more growing days than the average. Fiwap reports that the regional differences are sometimes large and the growth has stopped due to a lack of precipitation. The high underwater weights (up to 473 grams) make blue damage a problem. In week 39 another trial harvesting will be done.

Figures from Bruwier
The figures of potato trading house brewer confirm the image of the above organizations. In week 37, those plots with Fontane amounted to 45,8 tonnes net per hectare. The samples are slightly coarser at 80% in size 50 millimeters upwards. This result is about 11% below the 5-year average of this potato company. Challenger's results are almost the same, although these parties are much less crude.

The plots that Bruwier monitors in Wallonia and Flanders are slightly more mature: 60% for Fontane and 55% for Challenger. Challenger is (mainly in Wallonia) very heterogeneous. Yields vary from 33 tons to 66 tons.

France shows the same picture
On the other side of the border, the picture is not much different, because the French yield figures from growers' organization UNPT show a yield below that of 2016. The total main harvest is estimated at 43,9 tons per hectare for all varieties. This is 7% below the 10-year average. The growth curve is also flattening in France. The crops here are also very variable and depend on the region. In the chip potato areas, the yields are worse than in the region around Champagne, where table potatoes mainly grow. The ripening of the chips potatoes is also less at 40%. So there is still some growth potential.

Hardly any precipitation is forecast for the next 14 days. Thus, the month of September is said to end dry and sunny. Temperatures will rise to summer values ​​of 27 to 28 degrees towards the weekend. This applies to the Benelux and France. Favorable weather conditions for the harvest, but it means that significant crop growth is no longer possible. The Belgian figures already show this, with Fontane's growth not exceeding 150 kilos per hectare per day. This is comparable to the 2 weeks before.