Inside Potatoes
Quiet market, but price is creeping up
The potato market entered an interesting phase at the end of January. The expectation of higher physical prices has emerged clearly in the futures market in recent weeks.
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Choose the subscription that suits youThe potato futures market shows a calmly stable picture, around €18. The time factor is now becoming important in the futures market. With 12 weeks of trading to go before the final cash settlement (CS), the gap between the CS (€15,30) and the futures market (€17,80) must be closed. Statistically speaking, the futures market holds the strongest trump card. So far, the CS in particular has shown a very gradual increase.
White flesh is requested
The main driver in the physical market is the top quality of potatoes, especially the white-fleshed ones. Length, a good OWG and good baking quality are the specs that the requested potatoes must meet.
The yellow-fleshed potatoes provide a stable price picture. Supply and demand seem to be in good balance there. The pace of processing is high, but growers with moderate storage or growers who do not want to gas (in anticipation of the 2021 CIPC rules) are now offering their potatoes. Growers are satisfied with a price that is above the contract price. This means that supply and demand appear to be in balance.
The demand for Bintje is increasing in Belgium. Processors are looking for good quality Bintje. The supply is limited due to the sharp decline in the area in recent years. However, there remains a demand for the good old Bintje for fries from traditional chip sales.
Special growing season
The market is therefore in balance with a friendly undertone. We now have to wait for possible strong export demand. This must come from England or Poland. Both countries suffered most from the special growing season. England has a fixed market, but seemed to stabilize for a while because harvesting could resume. This has now come to a standstill again due to a lot of rain.
Given the recently announced production figures, Poland really needs to enter the market. The Polish government announced that the harvest is 13% lower than last year. This puts Poland at the lowest volume of potatoes in the past 10 years. Only 2016 can be compared to the last season.