After a soaking end of September, the potato harvest in the first half of October is going very smoothly. Favorable harvesting conditions ensure that harvesters throughout Europe do not or hardly have to stand still. The pace is therefore quite high. It is now clear that considerably fewer tons are being stored.
Aviko Potato made its first harvesting progress for the current season last Friday 7 October published. Noord-Holland and Southern Flevoland are leading the way in this regard. According to the potato processor, 80% of the consumption area (of their affiliated growers) is already behind the shelves. Three quarters have been harvested in Eastern Flevoland and more than half in the southeast of the Netherlands. Arable farmers in the southwest were faced with a lot of rain, which meant that the harvesters started up later. This is reflected in the graph, which does not go further than a fifth of the acreage. That is comparable to the Northern Netherlands.
Speed incredibly high
The percentage as a whole is probably higher for the south-west of the Netherlands. A little bit of harvesting was already done in September and, where possible, harvesting was also done at the beginning of October. It is clear that the harvest has never been this early in recent years. Even the pace of 2018 has passed in most areas. Harvesting can take place every day, the night temperatures are just not too low and the soil is nicely moist. Many growers, especially in Flevoland, report that the structure is fine and the soil can be sieved well. In the southwest, the heavy rainfall has clearly left its mark. That doesn't lead to really big problems. A single corner has too many rotten tubers and the bearing capacity can be a problem in bad places.
In the EU-4 plus the United Kingdom (UK), with three quarters of the area already harvested, the UK is way ahead as usual. Especially in the east of England, most potatoes have been harvested and companies have irrigated for the harvest. It remains extremely dry. In Northern England the harvesting rate is less high and in Scotland almost the entire (seed potato) harvest still has to go in. According to Aviko, the Netherlands is in second place (55% in 45) with about 2018%, followed by Germany with a good 50%.
France and Belgium
About 40% has now been harvested in France and Belgium. The harvest always starts later in those countries. Both countries have had less rain in recent weeks. Especially on the coast there were showers that sometimes caused problems in West Flanders. In all European countries, the rain has meant that grubbing-up is possible at all. The moist soil ensures that even batches with a very high underwater weight can still arrive properly.
The latest trial harvests in Flanders and Wallonia make it clear that the yield here is definitely disappointing. The figures from PCA, Fiwap and Carah show that the Fontane's yield on average 13% less and Challenger almost a quarter less compared to the multi-year average. These are comparable figures with 2018. In addition, the parties are finer, especially Challenger. The quality is good to very good, especially for Fontane.
There are large differences visible between plots. That image is emerging all over Europe. The situation in Germany and Poland is also very variable and depends on the region. Starch potatoes have performed particularly poorly this season. Mild autumn weather is forecast for the next two weeks with only a small amount of precipitation. Temperatures will rise again to a maximum of 20 degrees at the beginning of next week. It is therefore expected that the potato harvest throughout Europe will continue at the current high pace and can be completed very quickly for most companies. The conditions for sowing winter grain and tillage are also ideal.