England is the country where the potato harvest (after the Netherlands) lags furthest behind. It has been raining heavily in the north and west of the country for weeks, making it even wetter here than in the Netherlands. The potato harvest is therefore seriously lagging behind, especially in the northwestern region of England.
Further to the south-east of England the harvest has slowed, but to a much lesser extent than in the north-west. On average, about 50% has been cleared across England, while normally more than 60% has been cleared at this time. That figures Aviko Potato. However, various insiders estimate that the main harvest of consumption potatoes is less advanced.
Parts not cleared
In several cases, parts of the plots are not cleared. This is because the risk of bacterial rot and wet rot is high and the growers want to prevent this. To illustrate the situation in the country, many growers have purchased self-propelled potato harvesters due to these weather conditions, which allow them to better reach wet plots and have a better chance of completing the harvest on time.
Yet there is no panic yet. After all, the risk of frost in England is less great than on mainland Europe. This means that harvesting can take a long time. However, the year 2012 plays a role in the back of my mind. In the so-called England year, approximately 33% of the English potato harvest drowned.
Harvest is lower
If we do not include the problems caused by the wet weather, yields in the east of this country are just above average. The yields in the northwest are even described as 'high'. "However, due to quality problems and the fact that several parts of the plots are not cleared, the final yields are not better than average," John Sarup of Spud Agronomy told Farmers Guardian.
According to government agency AHDB potato, the average yield is between 44 to 46 tons, but that does not include the problems caused by rain. Although the total potato area in England has increased slightly, the potato area for the processing industry has decreased. However, this is only a decrease of 1% and is mainly due to potato chips.
The harvest is also lagging far behind in Ireland. The farmers' advocate in Ireland estimates that a maximum of 30% to 35% of potatoes have currently been harvested. This means that the harvest is approximately 3 weeks behind normal. Yields in the country are also below average.
Heavy rain expected
Wet and windy weather is expected in the northern part of England towards the end of the week. On average, around 40 to 60 millimeters of rainfall will fall, but as much as 100 millimeters is expected in northern parts of England. Next week a high pressure area seems to ensure that it will remain dry for the time being, although it will get colder. There is even night frost. The situation means that AHDB's quotation for free potatoes increased by €6 to €151 per tonne in the past week.