Q-potato announced the results of the 5 ware potato pool yesterday (July 2021). Both the potato growers' association and Q-potato are satisfied with the result, despite the uncertain market last season.
The Q-potato pool price for the Innovator and Agria varieties is €22,05 per 100 kilos in category 1. For the Markies variety the pool price is €21,05 per 100 kilos and for Lady Anna €20,05 per 100 kilos delivered in category 1. The potatoes delivered in category 2 still receive a premium of €1 per 100 kilos compared to category 1. More than 50% of the Arctic potatoes receive this premium. All prices mentioned are based on delivery week 17 and without any compensation for box storage, mechanical cooling and/Global GAP.
Waiting before selling pays off
Despite a challenging season, the members and management of Q-potato are satisfied with the result, says Dirk van de Water, responsible for the purchase and sale of consumption potatoes at Q-potato. "This price is also desperately needed to keep cultivation interesting for growers, especially given the disappointing returns of the past two seasons."
The past season was characterized as a capricious market with a lot of uncertainty, but Q-potato still managed to benefit from the higher prices from the new year when the market touched €20 and went higher. "We consciously chose to remain calm during the months of November and December, when the market was very uncertain. Once the price rose to €20, we decided to participate fully because we thought that was a good price. That ultimately worked out well. Unfortunately, the outcome of the 2021 harvest is disappointing and that also creates uncertainty for the current season."
In addition to the pool, Q-potato potato growers can also contract part of the harvest in advance. Click contracts are not possible with Q-Potato, but potato growers can benefit from the futures market in another way. Through the potato growers' association Q-Potato, pool participants can deposit an amount between €5.000 and €50.000, which is used as cover on the futures market. This is offset by a compensation of 5% interest on the contributed capital. Van de Water: This hedging contributes to the pool result and growers' money is used for a better payment price for pool growers."