The growth of the potato market and consumption has leveled off in Ireland in recent weeks, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) wrote in the market update published yesterday. But the terrible events in Ukraine are putting enormous pressure on the agricultural sector.
According to the IFA, the fact that the potato daily market is starting to stabilize is due to a combination of factors such as a changed lifestyle in the post-corona era and high inflation. However, the European potato and agricultural markets in general are overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. According to the IFA, there are fewer transactions on the physical market for free potatoes, partly because of this.
Demand remains good
Nevertheless, the global demand for processed potato products remains as high as ever, according to the trade association. The export of frozen potato products to Russia has been completely stopped. The consequences for the European potato sector remain limited in the short term. It is estimated that the Russian market accounts for around 5% to 7% of EU exports. This amounts to approximately 12.000 to 20.000 tons of potatoes. This decline in demand can easily be absorbed by the current good demand for frozen potato products, especially from Asia, according to the IFA.
The organization warns that the current tensions on the agricultural markets have a major influence on the choices farmers make for the current growing season. Fertilizer and diesel have already reached record prices in the past week. This creates great uncertainty in the agricultural sector and may lead to different choices among farmers.