The German contribution for the cash settlement differs considerably from the contribution of the other three countries. The German price is even almost 20% lower than the Dutch price. Why are German potatoes so much cheaper?
If you look at the quotation from Germany of €20,78, which makes the first cash settlement of the 2022/2023 season €23,20, it may be better to buy the fries potatoes (if you have to buy them at all) there. The German contribution in terms of market price is no less than 13% lower than that from Belgium and France (23,40 per 100 kilos) and the Netherlands (€25,10). If you only look at the Dutch contribution, the difference is almost 20%. The question is how the stock exchange organization EEX, which compiles the CS during the storage season and publishes it on Thursday at 15.00 p.m., arrives at a price of €20,78 for Germany. All known quotations in Germany are at a higher price level. For example, REKA quoted €11 for Fontane (unchanged) on Friday, November 22,00, while Innovator itself rose by €2,00 to €26,00.
Better than expected harvest
It is to be expected that the mood in the German potato market may be somewhat more moderate in the coming period than in France and Belgium in particular. In the most important northern state of Lower Saxony, the potato harvest was certainly not disappointing. This quickly leads to a brake on positive price development. It is clear that potatoes will ultimately be shifted in the coming months towards the 'gap', which is mainly present in Belgium and France. Transport and its significantly higher costs already play a role. For example, driving loads of potatoes for more than 500 kilometers or more still happens, despite the fact that we talk a lot about sustainability. Shifting raw materials is certainly done to ensure that purchasing costs do not increase too much.
The fact is that the (storage) season still has a long way to go and that the market, after the dip of the past few weeks, has found its way back up. Not because there is currently too much demand (most processors do not buy additional free product), but there is a desire to make the mood more pink with the coming growing season in mind (not to decrease the area of potatoes too much). Fortunately, there is still the futures market, which returned to €11 per 7 kilos on Friday, November 26,00, with a turnover of only 100 contracts.