Due to the poor market conditions, there is a group of potato growers who are reluctant to conclude potato contracts. After a brief upturn in the market at the end of February, the market is now in a downturn again. That doesn't help the mood for the coming season. And that while the time is running out to conclude contracts. After all, the first seed potatoes have already gone into the ground.
It is understandable that there is a group of growers who do not simply sign the cross. The contract prices are generally lower than last year and the industry wants to capture fewer tonnes per hectare. The cultivation costs are increasing. Consider, for example, the disappearance of CIPC, which means that more expensive germ inhibitors now have to be used. Several processors aim for a multi-year commitment and offer contracts for 2 or 3 years. There appears to be only limited interest in this from arable farming. Future increases in cultivation costs will then no longer be covered.
Industry wants to be assured of supply
The chip industry has invested heavily in expanding production capacity in recent years and wants to be assured of supply for this. The te expected contraction of the European area does not fit in with this. The processors therefore have an interest in growers who want to continue growing under contract. In order to break the impasse that has arisen, it appears that it is best to negotiate the contract terms. This is reported by various grower organizations, such as the Producers' Organization for Consumption Potatoes.
How accommodating a processor is to a grower varies greatly from case to case. The image is that growers who in the past harvested tons and delivered good quality have an advantage. What can be negotiated also varies. In some cases the seed potato price can be reduced, but in others the multi-year price with a one-year contract can also be considered. There are factories that, in return, ask the arable farmer to grow varieties that he would not prefer.