Buffen: 'Potato market will never be the same again'

Buffen also agrees that the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the potato sector. "From now on, we will always speak of a 'pre-corona time' and a 'post-corona time'. At Weuthen we have also been hit hard by the corona crisis. We suddenly had to sell more than 100.000 tons of raw material in other channels."

According to Buffen, you should think of the feed market, flake industry and starch industry. It was striking that there was more than enough demand from those markets. "That was a real stroke of luck for us in these difficult times. In mid-March we did not expect that we would be able to get rid of the immense surplus of potatoes."

Low price a roll
Of course, the very low price also plays a major role in this. "Supply and demand of course determine the market, but you can sometimes also create demand by lowering the price. As a sector we have had to respond to this, but when it comes down to it, it has had results," Buffen explains. .

''Ultimately, we also took the rigorous step of continuing to send potatoes from the old harvest to the forage trade and fermenter, so that we could replace them with new harvest. It ensured that we could start the new harvest between July 20 and 25." According to Buffen, we will be back in a clean market in 2 weeks.

'Making predictions is very difficult'
Typically Buffen gives on the Weuthen Kartoffeltag his vision of the coming season and releases an initial price forecast, but in these times it is difficult to predict anything at all. "I have come to the conclusion (after following the first trial harvests) that we will certainly not get a top yield in the EU-5. There is a negative mood among growers, which sometimes means that the ambition to achieve a top yield is not there either. is more. For example, French growers are being called on to stop irrigating altogether," says Buffen.

"In my opinion, the potato yield in the EU-5 is therefore approximately 26 million tons, with a minimal area expansion. But if the chip industry only has 85% of the needs, there are simply still too many potatoes." However, according to Buffen, the latter is a question that no one can answer today. The Weuthen director also indicates that reducing the area was virtually impossible. "We put on the brakes and were therefore able to limit the expansion from 4% to 6% to 2 to 3%, but most of our growers, for example, already had the seed potatoes at home."

What is the new normal?
The fact that the potato market will soon no longer be the same also means that growers will have to look at the market with a new perspective. "I think that in the future it will again be about one thing: the best quality at the lowest cost price at the factory. And that lowest cost price is partly determined by the yields." By the way, we will return to that unanswered question: what is the new normal? "Is 85% to 90% of the fries requirement before corona the new normal after the crisis? That is the question that concerns us all now."

If the answer to that question is 'yes', then it is clear that in the future a clear separation must be made between the top fields and the fields of lower quality. "The boys will be separated from the girls first. A lower contract price cannot be ruled out." Buffen further advises potato growers to adapt cultivation to demand in the future. For example, the market for table potatoes has skyrocketed since the corona crisis. "That's why I started growing table potatoes or chip potatoes where possible."

You can also listen to the conversation in the podcast below. Handy for in the car, tractor or at work.