Scarcity of Bintje in Belgium seems real

While Bintje was the most important potato variety in Belgium 10 to 15 years ago, the area this season does not exceed 10% of the total. The quality problems and sensitivity to overwash forced the chip industry to look for an alternative, which was found in the Fontane variety. Yet Bintje has retained its status among Belgians as one of the best chip potatoes in the world. This means that fryers and peelers still prefer this variety.

Potato growers who grow this variety, on the other hand, take more risks. Not only because the variety is more sensitive to overgrowth and causes quality problems, but also in view of current climate change. The old summer, the so-called 'bad summer', was ideal for Bintje, but this almost no longer occurs. Another factor is that barely 3% of the potato area in Belgium can be irrigated, and the Bintjes are not one of them.

Big step in the price for Bintje
This higher cultivation risk, and therefore an increased cost price, are reasons for the increased contract prices and free market prices for Bintje in the recent period. It should be noted that price formation is currently 100% driven by chip shops and peeling companies, because there is almost no trade on the free market. In addition, Bintje only makes up 1% of the free market, because most of the area is contracted via tonnage contracts. The contract prices (for industry) are now approximately €11 per 100 kilos. PCA/Fiwap will also communicate a price of €6 to €7 per 10 kilos for Bintje on Tuesday, October 100, with sometimes even more offered for immediate delivery.

The fact that the price for Bintje has risen again is, for several insiders, a sign of healthy market forces. The supply has shrunk sharply in recent weeks (partly due to difficult weather conditions, which mean that harvesting cannot take place), but demand from the catering industry (specifically the chip shops and peeling companies) is slowly increasing again. In addition, the prices for peeling companies are always slightly higher, because they buy smaller volumes and demand a certain quality (often higher quality in length and baking quality) than in the processing industry.

It is striking that the price for the regular French fry varieties Fontane and Challenger remains at €3 per 100 kilos. This is partly because these concern parties that go to the animal feed industry (this often concerns limited volumes of overtons). In general, there is little or no trade here either. Another factor is that industries simply do not want to pay anymore, although this seems to change when deliveries can be made at short notice. A steady market mood is reported for both varieties.

Is a shortage imminent?
With regard to the harvest, Belgium is again last in the class. It is estimated that 5% to 10% of the entire area has currently been cleared. That is considerably less than in The Netherlands, Germany and France. A lot of precipitation is expected in Belgium for the rest of the week, which means that harvesting is still not an option. According to the insiders, farmers and factories are now starting to get a bit nervous. Also in view of the fact that the final yield of the 14 sampled plots of Fiwap and Carab does not exceed 40 tons per hectare. The yield is the second lowest of the past 10 years and comparable to 2019. Only the 2018 growing season scored lower.

However, it is still too early to conclude that there will be a shortage of Bintjes towards the end of the season. The potato peeling companies usually switch to other chip varieties around April, although this is postponed as long as possible because Bintjes are preferred. In the first half of November, Fiwap will come up with a stock inventory and this should show how many Bintjes there are fewer compared to the 2019 harvest. Only then can an estimate be made as to whether it is feasible at the end of April.