There have been several reports of an exciting transition between the old and the new crop at the various processors. Now that the transition to early potatoes has finally started, 4 weeks later than planned, the quotation immediately jumps in price by €5.
Last week it became clear that Belgapom's quotation of €15 was strange, as there were no early potatoes for sale anywhere for that price. At the beginning of this week, €17 and €18 were already reluctantly paid and since yesterday they have been trading for €20 off for Zorba, delivery week 31, 32 and 33.
These must have the correct size and underwater weight (OWG), something that is actually the case with very few plots. Old harvest potatoes were also traded this week for €21 and collected for €23. This marks the end of the (old potato) season at last year's contract prices.
Need a lot of kilos
The lack of early potatoes is entirely due to the cold spring and the further growing conditions during the season. Yields are below average and coarseness and OWG are at the lower end of the range. This means that yields in factories are very low and more potatoes are therefore needed to produce the same kilos of fries. In addition, the area of early potatoes has also shrunk in the past year, which makes the availability of 'free' early potatoes very limited.
The rapid rise in the early potato price also provides a positive impulse on the futures market. Yet it still doesn't really want to get out of the starting blocks. Buyers are cautious because of the good growing conditions for the main harvest. The first results of the test harvesting will be announced in the coming weeks and then an initial indication can be made of how much there is now and what the growth potential is.
Tal is disappointing
However, there are many reports from growers that the numbers are generally disappointing. While at the beginning of the growing season it was reported that there were many numbers on a plant, these have disappeared like snow in the sun due to the extreme weather conditions. Growers know that with a low number it is difficult to achieve above-average yields, that could be a first indication. Lots of foliage and changeable weather for the next 2 weeks means that it will continue to grow well.
With an area shrinkage of 6% and a loss of 2% due to water damage in the EU-4, the total harvest versus the needs of the processors is on a fine thread and it will be very exciting in the coming weeks. An average to above-average yield is needed to match the increased processing capacity in the EU-4. It should be noted that the increase in infections due to corona makes chip buyers in particular very careful. In the event of a possible new lockdown, they do not want to be stuck with large stocks of chips in the chain and the stock is kept as small as possible.{{dataviewSnapshot(2_1627650402)}}