The futures market for the April 2022 contract closed on Thursday, December 30 at €20, ending the year as the market is closed on New Year's Eve. Last season, the year 2020 ended at less than €6,50.
The corona specter apparently had an even greater influence on market price developments than is the case today. At the beginning of this year, the April 2021 quotation rose to €10 in the first six weeks, before falling back to €6. The final settlement based on the cash settlement in week 17 amounted to €8,10.
Corona also remains an issue in recent months with regard to the 2021 harvest year. Due to the smaller acreage and the average lower potato harvest in the EU-4 countries in combination with the excellent sales of end products, the futures market has moved between the level of €16 and €21. However, when the corona specter and the associated lockdowns loomed, doubts arose in the market and the quotation dipped in a short time from almost €21 in week 44, for example, to €17 at the end of week 45. The question that arises is what the market development was. if we had been able to put the corona era behind us. In other words: couldn't the potato prices on both the physical and futures markets have been at a higher price level? In any case, the various ingredients for a market between €20 and €25 were present.
Stemming
How to start the new year with the potatoes from 2021? Assuming that the corona tunnel will come to a careful end, the question is whether the average price of the physical market can correct towards at least the €20 level, at the end of the April 2022 quotation at the end of 2021 that should certainly be possible. A little mood like this in the coming week would not be a luxury, as discussions will be started between growers and buyers about the agreements for the cultivation for the 2022/2023 season. A higher contract price for the coming crop year is one thing, but a higher market price for the old harvest in the coming months would also be very helpful.