The first cash settlement of the 2020 harvest has been determined by the exhibition organization EEX. The quotation is almost equal to the price level at which the June quotation for the 2019 harvest was settled. In that sense, little has changed in the potato market under the influence of the 'corona ghost'.
There was clearly a recovery in the market during the summer period, but the second lockdown due to the coronavirus in the European Union suppressed the market recovery. As a result, the futures market for the 'April 2021 contract' is currently (mid-November) at approximately €5,50, while at the beginning of October it was still €8 per 100 kilos. The first cash settlement of the season therefore offers little hope that an improvement in the very weak mood can be expected in the short term.
Create a mood?
What is striking about the first cash settlement of the 2020 potato harvest is the low contribution from Belgium (€3,55) and France (€4,10) compared to Germany (€2,53) and the Netherlands (€2,53). In these countries in particular, there was a significant backlog in the harvest last period, because there was a bit of a mood. Given the input based on the different quotations (RNM for France and Belgapom/PCA/Fiwap for Belgium), most of the potatoes have apparently been harvested and there is no more voting to be done.
The contribution from the Netherlands is quite high, compared to the contribution from the other 3 countries. This seems to be the result of the enthusiastic recording this week by PotatoNL. The category 2 quotation is €6 to €9.