Cash settlement has found its way up

At the start of the CS season, €23,30 was put on the board, with the next step being €23,40. Until mid-December, the CS remained unchanged for a number of weeks before rising to €25,20 before the turn of the year. The initiative for a higher CS came from Belgium and France where the quotations increased from €2,50 to reach €25 for Fontane and Challenger and €27,50 for Innovator. The quotations in Germany (REKA) and the Netherlands are now following the market in Belgium and France in terms of mood, causing the CS to rise to €12 on Thursday, January 26. Incidentally, the contribution from the Netherlands is the highest at €26,83 compared to that from Belgium and France (€25,90) ​​and Germany (€25,23).

Where is the border?
The fact is, however, that all eyes are on Belgium and France in terms of price formation, as it is assumed that the limited supply of potatoes may cause further price increases. PCA/Fiwap was still unchanged on Tuesday, January 10, at €25 for Fontane and Challenger, but the mood was described as 'very firm'. Belgapom also recorded unchanged at the end of last week, but with a fixed mood. According to most insiders, the next step in the quotations to, for example, €27,50 for Fontane will not take long. The French RNM listing will certainly follow. The price increases of the various quotes in the coming weeks will cause the CS to rise further towards the €28 level, which means that the current futures market price level for the April 2023 contract (closing 12/01 €29,30) is not spectacular; In that sense, the €30 level seems to be a magical upper limit. But boundaries are there to be broken down. It is interesting to see what the maximum achievable is for this season, again with a view to the coming harvest year in which contract prices have increased unprecedentedly.