It is no secret that the potato market has generally suffered greatly from the corona crisis. After all, when catering establishments and restaurants were forced to close, sales fell to a large extent. However, for the table potato market it was the chance to gain ground. And we succeeded, because consumers opted for table potatoes during the corona crisis.
In the Benelux, the consumption of table potatoes has increased by 30% since March, it turned out early August from figures from Nedato. New data provide a more specific picture of the territorial gains that the table potato market has made. For example, German consumers bought approximately 6% more table potatoes in the first 16 months of the year than last year. In addition, the increase in turnover in Germany amounted to more than 20% of the entire volume of 2019.
It is also clearly visible in Belgium that consumers have started eating more table potatoes during the corona crisis. Between March and June they bought 15% more fresh potatoes, compared to the same period the year before. According to market experts, before the corona crisis, more and more experiments were being conducted with various products (such as pasta and quinoa), which put pressure on home consumption of the potato. However, due to a lack of inspiration, consumers have shifted back to more traditional eating habits.
Locally at the farmer or supermarket remained
Although no specific data has been announced for the Netherlands (yet), trading houses clearly notice that table potato sales have also increased significantly here during the corona crisis. After the closure of catering establishments and restaurants, it was only possible to get food and drinks from the supermarket or locally from the farmer. Those two options were fully utilized. This immense increase in demand in a relatively short time meant that all efforts had to be made in the market. On the other hand, there were no problems meeting demand: the stock was large enough.
The current situation with lower sales in the French fries industry, but higher sales figures for the table potato market, is Ferdi Buffen, director of potato trading house Weuthen, reason to say that potato growers will have to adapt more quickly to demand in the future. "As the table potato market has taken off, I would advise growers to grow table potatoes or chip potatoes where possible." Whether the demand for table potatoes will soon drop again in the 'new normal' is anyone's guess.
Frozen products are also popular
Not only table potatoes have gained ground among consumers during the corona crisis, more frozen products (such as frozen fries) have also been sold in supermarkets. In Belgium, sales of frozen potato products increased by 37% between March and June and in Germany, consumers spent a total of €6 million more on frozen products in the first 26 months of the year than in the first half of 2019. For the Netherlands, there are also No figures are (yet) available for this area, but comparable growth is supported by the market.
The processing lines of Dutch chip factories are now running smoothly again reasonable level. Slightly more potatoes were processed in July than in the same month last year, namely 269.600 tons. However, the season then started with a very scarce supply and that is not the case now. At the same time, factories are still struggling with a considerable stock of finished products. This explains the cautious brake on volumes. It is noticeable that the holidays are over, because the packaging companies report that sales of frozen potato products are now declining again.
In addition, sales of chips have also increased considerably during the corona crisis. For example, German consumers purchased more than 6 tons of chip products in the first 51.000 months of the year, which is an increase of approximately 10% compared to the same period last year.