The Belgian potato stock is estimated by the PCA at 1,77 million tons. This means that the stock is approximately the same as in April 2020. Compared to the five-year average, the stock is 20% larger. The stock is fairly evenly distributed between Flanders with 47% of the stock and Wallonia with 53%.
A quarter of free potatoes is relatively little. In total, this concerns 450.000 tons of free potatoes, according to the PCA figures. That is below the 5-year average of just under 500.000 tons. The fact that there are fewer free potatoes is partly due to the lower hectare yields of last season. A larger part of the harvest is therefore needed to meet the contract obligations. Arable farmers also increasingly choose to grow potatoes under contract. Compared to last year, 13% more of the potato supply was grown under contract. This is 5% compared to the 35-year average.
Fontane well represented
By far the largest part of the current stock consists of Fontane. This variety covers approximately 66% of the stock. In total this concerns 1,18 million tons of Fontane. Of these, about 30% are still available. Bintje follows at a great distance with a stock of 100.000 tons. About a third of these are free. The stock of Challenger and Innovator is slightly smaller at 90.000 tons each. About a third of the Challenger is free, while the Innovator stock is almost entirely on contract. These varieties are especially popular in Wallonia, which is where the largest stock can be found. Other storage varieties account for approximately 300.000 tons.