The processing lines of the Dutch chips factories are running at a reasonable level again. In July, a fraction more potatoes were processed than a year ago. However, then the season started with a very scarce supply and that is not the case now.
In total, the potato industry processed 269.600 tons of potatoes into fries and other potato products in July. This is evident from the current processing figures that Vavi publishes monthly. The volume therefore drops 'only' 2% compared to the month of June when 274.300 tons of potatoes were processed. Normally the decline is greater in July.
Enough supply of old harvest
The figures are in line with a year ago. In July 2019, 268.500 tons were processed, which meant a very poor start to the season. Due to the tight 2018 harvest, factories had to make great efforts to maintain supply. That problem cannot arise this year. Due to the corona crisis, many potatoes from the 2019 harvest have been left behind.
At the same time, the factories are still struggling with a considerable stock of end products. It explains that there is some drag on processing volumes. The 5-year average for the month of July is 272.240 tons of potatoes. French fries sales are slowly recovering since the reopening of the catering industry, but are not yet at their previous level.
Higher chip production
Of the volume of potatoes processed in July, 43,1% (116.200 tons) came from abroad. That is significant, but significantly less than last year when 47,3% of the volume (127.000 tons) was imported. In July, a total of 128.200 tons of potatoes were used for the production of pre-fried fries and 23.100 tons were processed into other potato products. This means that French fries production is significantly higher (27%) than in July 2019.