Also this week there was little or no life in the potato market. Processors are hardly, if at all, on the market to buy potatoes. Have the factory buyers really settled their positions for the rest of the season or are they risking the first new potatoes becoming available early?
Belgapom recorded unchanged today at €20 ahead of Fontane and Challenger, with the mood described as stable. The listing of Fontane and Challenger should be seen as an indication, as relatively few or no potato transactions have taken place.
This is also clearly visible in the Netherlands. The PAT list shows a last case dated June 9. This means that in the past 8 days there has been no purchase by processing industries in the Netherlands from Dutch growers. Apparently the processors only run on contract potatoes and they no longer even include the co-delivered kilos, otherwise this would have been visible on the PAT list.
Trade is at a standstill
This means that the potato market has come to a complete standstill and the owners of free potatoes have to be even more patient. A number of buyers in Belgium reassure growers by indicating that they will simply collect the last potatoes, which in itself is a collegial attitude.
It remains striking that almost all processors in Europe are off the market at the same time and in one way or another use the same purchasing strategy and purchasing position. France, RNM, did not even quote at all this week, but did indicate that some volumes of Fontane that were traded were sold between €20 and €23,50. It is unclear whether this means that the RNM will no longer provide a quote this season.
The outcome of the market is determined by the transition to early potatoes. The market will probably dangle between hope and fear for another three weeks. If yields from early potatoes are disappointing, processors turn to the last old potatoes again. If the price of old potatoes is so attractive, processors may consider delaying the harvest of the early ones so that some extra kilos can grow.
Nerves of steel
The owners of free potatoes are being tested on their nerves for the time being. Exports do not seem to be able to save the market at the moment, given the calm mood. The flake processors have their positions well in order and are not currently in the market for extra potatoes. The only transaction to report is a transaction that was reported under DCA's new initiative: the Transaction app. A transaction of 150 tons of free Donata was reported, delivered within 3 weeks, to the Dutch industry for the price of €20 per 100 kilos.
The futures market for the new season is also being drawn into the lackluster mood of the old harvest. Where everyone used to have high hopes for price developments, that confidence is now crumbling. The fact that the area in Flanders, for example, is estimated to be larger than previously expected does not help the mood either. Growers who have contracted little or nothing are now seeking cover on the futures market. Buyers can only be found from the speculative side, who may expect that the summer can still provide a mood. In addition, processors appear to be reluctant to supplement previously contracted quantities. In a number of cases, growers can still sign up.