For many arable farmers, the end of the potato planting season means that they are already finished. Time for the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) to estimate what the potato area will be and how the start of the new season has gone so far.
NEPG expects the area in the EU-4 (Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands) to shrink by 3% to 5% compared to a year earlier. "A historic event," the organization reports in a press release. The area has only grown over the past 20 years, with an exception in 2014.
Cold and wet
The winter has been wetter and colder than we have been used to in recent years according to the NEPG. The early potatoes were planted under cold conditions and their growth was delayed by approximately 2 weeks due to the cold weather that followed. The planting of the main harvest in Northwest Europe only got underway in the third week of April. Conditions were good and the work went smoothly.
NEPG describes the current old crop market as bullish. The demand for potatoes is increasing somewhat, both in the EU-4 countries and in other European and non-European countries. Growers expect the early potatoes to reach the market later than in other years and the cold weather has been favorable for the storage of the old harvest. In many cases, dormancy is better than expected. According to the NEPG, there are also fewer free potatoes on the market than in recent years.
Fragile and uncertain market
According to the NEPG, growers are aware that the situation in the potato market is fragile and uncertain. Cultivation costs have risen considerably over the past 2 years, while hectare yields have remained approximately the same over the last 4 years. Storage has also become considerably more expensive and requires more knowledge and attention with the disappearance of Chlorine IPC. At the same time, the sector is under a magnifying glass. Water pollution, erosion and the implementation of crop protection are receiving attention from the social debate. Growers must be aware of this.