The potato market is clearly on the way to higher prices. The price of the futures market Friday afternoon is already around the €30 level. That doesn't seem to give a real special feeling. It is rather the idea that such a price is part of how the potato market is evolving during this period.
Considering the contract prices for the coming harvest year, the current market price (DCA Spot quotation €26,85 and futures market €30) is indeed not that spectacular, but apparently it takes some getting used to to eventually see a current market of €30 plus. The cash settlement (CS) of week 3 was still €26,50, not including the increase in the Belgapom quotation to €27,50 for Fontane and Challenger (which was published a day later). Assuming that the other quotes in the other EU-4 countries also rise (the German REKA already did this today, January 20), a CS towards €28 is quickly in sight.
Market in motion
That a further increase may soon follow is evident from the situation in Belgium, where €30 per 100 kilos has already been paid in recent days for delivery in the first week of February. In this case, it is not (yet) the processors who pay for this, but the trade. It is of course clear where these potatoes ultimately end up. Trade does the purchasing work as an advanced 'post'. Given the steady market price developments in Belgium and the docile picture from other EU countries, the current price on the futures market is ordinary. Unless of course the reins are loosened for a while (hanging back a bit in terms of bids), but it doesn't seem like that in the coming weeks.