The ware potato area in the United Kingdom is also falling again this year. This means that production is even historically low. Just like on the European mainland, the market mood is not positive either. It is therefore called for that an even greater reduction is required to make the market healthy.
With the disappearance of the trade organization AHDB Potato, hardly any current figures on the British potato market are released. It is a market in itself, which has completely separated itself from the EU-4. It is also an important export market for Europe. With the decline in cultivation on the island, the need for potato products is only growing.
Area historically small
According to AHDB, the total area was 2020 hectares in 119.000 and around 115.000 hectares last year. This year, potato cultivation will amount to around 109.000 hectares, according to insiders. That is a decrease of 5%. Never before have fewer than 110.000 hectares of potatoes been grown in the UK. If you calculate that figure with the five-year average yield, the harvest amounts to 4,86 million tons. This last happened in 2018. The time before that was 2012, a year that many Dutch potato growers can still remember well.
According to potato grower James Wrinch, a production of 5 to 5,5 million tons is needed to keep the market healthy, he told the newspaper East Anglian Daily Times. To achieve this, the area must structurally decrease. Wrinch talks about 15%. Together with six colleagues, he has united in the grower organization East Suffolk Produce. They produce 50.000 tons of table potatoes and 5.000 tons of seed potatoes annually.
9 euros below cost price
This season is a big downer for the growers. The free potato price is currently £120 per tonne. Converted to another €14 per 100 kilos. And while the cost price is more than €23. Since the end of May, plenty of new table potatoes have been harvested in Eastern England, which is putting the market in further doldrums. Old potatoes are hardly sellable anymore. With the high cultivation costs this season and attractive alternatives, it is not difficult for growers to opt for grain.
Wrinch points out another change. Retailers are committing increasingly larger volumes to contracts. "Traditionally, about 60% was agreed in advance and 40% was purchased on the open market. In the last four years, that percentage has grown to 90% on contract. So there is very little room for free potatoes."
Quarter more chip exports
Smaller potato production offers opportunities for Dutch and Belgian exporters. Both countries together account for 90% of French fries exports. Between March 2021 and April 2022, the United Kingdom imported almost a quarter more fries than the previous season. Good for 654.000 tons of product. This means that the export level is almost back to the level before the corona pandemic. This spring, imports were even 50% higher.