Agriphoto

Inside Potatoes

These are Agrico's payout prices for the 2020 harvest

8 July 2021 - Jurphaas Lugtenburg

Agrico announced today (Thurs 8 July) the payment prices for seed and ware potatoes for the 2020 harvest. The cooperative is satisfied with the final result achieved in a 'very challenging season'.

Would you like to continue reading this article?

Become a subscriber and get instant access

Choose the subscription that suits you
Do you have a tip, suggestion or comment regarding this article? Let us know

The average price for seed potatoes across all sizes, class S to A, amounts to €25,77 per 100 kilos. Last year, the payment price for seed potatoes at Agrico was €30,21 per 100 kilos. The final result for the 2020 harvest is slightly higher than that announced in May indication price of €25 per 100 kilos. In the table potato pool, the result is €13,14 per 100 kilos excluding the PlanetProof compensation. The Agrico pool pays €28,53 per 100 kilos for organic table potatoes. Organic seed potatoes yielded an average of €45,10 per 100 kilos for all sizes class S to A.

{{dataviewSnapshot(40_1625752477)}}

Changing demand for seed potatoes
Seed potato exports faced significant challenges due to corona, Agrico reports in the statement. The start of the marketing season started well according to the company and early destinations such as Pakistan and Bangladesh purchased a lot of seed potatoes. Exports to North Africa suffered a dent due to the Algerian import quota. Normally this country purchases approximately 80.000 tons of seed potatoes. Now there was a quota of 50.000, which meant there was a surplus of some breeds.

In Southern Europe, Spain, Portugal and Italy took a step back. The chip industry also started the season cautiously. Due to sufficient chips potatoes from the 2020 main harvest, there was less demand for early chip varieties. With the improving chip market, the demand for seed potatoes also increased from March. The Fontane and Markies seed potatoes are almost sold out, reports the cooperative trading house. According to Agrico, Fontane in particular has contributed significantly to the equalization fund to bring a number of export varieties to the minimum.

Flat table market
The market for conventional table potatoes was characterized by a flat stock exchange quotation over the entire season. According to the cooperative, the biggest challenge was finding the right quality for the right market. The PlanetProof certification has had a positive influence on the price.

The demand for organic table potatoes was good in Dutch retail, but exports were difficult. Demand from Germany in particular was disappointing due to a good domestic harvest. Another destination was therefore sought for some of the potatoes. Robust Next Generation varieties with broad resistance to phytophthora have shown an increase in yield per hectare in recent years, according to Agrico. The same development is also occurring in organic seed potato cultivation. The average yield in 2020 was 31,5 tons per hectare after deduction of own use.

Confidence in the new season
When announcing the pool prices, Agrico also takes a cautious look at the 2021 harvest. Tuber formation appears to be quite high in Northwestern Europe. However, in some places it is so wet that significant damage is feared. Expensive and limited container transport creates challenges in seed potato exports to certain destinations. The effect of the area shrinkage in consumption potatoes will only become clear once there is more insight into the hectare yields. The high phytophthora pressure is a threat to organic cultivation. Plots may need to be burned early without enough pounds under them.

Agrico has made significant cuts in its acreage to achieve better coordination with demand. Agrico is currently seeing a number of green signals, which means the company is looking forward to the start of the new season with confidence.

Call our customer service +0320 - 269 528

or mail to supportboerenbusiness. Nl

do you want to follow us?

Receive our free Newsletter

Current market information in your inbox every day

Login/Register