These can be interesting years when it comes to sufficient availability of seed potatoes. The area is expected to decrease next year. This while the demand for chips potatoes in Europe, but also worldwide, continues to increase.
The seed potato area will again take a step down next season, according to expectations. The relatively high contract prices of the French fries industry are at the expense of table, starch and seed potato cultivation, the NEPG reported earlier this year. In addition, profitability is under pressure given all the increased costs, but also the legal restrictions on the use of crop protection products. However, for more chip potatoes you also need more seed potatoes.
Seed potato chip varieties sold out
Sales of seed potatoes from the 2022 harvest went well, especially if you take into account all the increased costs, including transport and the drought in Europe last year. The export varieties did well and another record of more than 191.000 tons was shipped to Africa. Asia also purchased more and Europe is not lagging behind in purchasing either. The same applies to the industrial varieties. The French fry industry's hunger for more and more raw materials must be satisfied. With the increased contract prices, it is not surprising that the chip varieties are sold out at Agrico.
"Everything is going well this year," says Jan van Hoogen, director at the seed potato trading house Agrico. According to him, demand is somewhat higher than previously expected. "We have multi-year contracts for the volume of chip varieties, but you always have a portion free. When the increased contract prices became known, we thought: this will certainly work out well. As in other seasons, we have also sold the somewhat larger sizes for consumption. And every year we have to wait and see what will go. This year, everything."
Van Hoogen, like the NEPG, predicts a shrinkage in the area of seed potato cultivation in Europe, but also in the Netherlands, for next year. These will be interesting years if you consider that the chip factories are springing up like mushrooms and the processing figures are downright good. "This season we expect the area to decrease in European terms and that also applies to Agrico. It is difficult to say exactly how much. But chip factories continue to be built and that requires chip potatoes and therefore also seed potatoes."
Fontane area not included
In recent years, the chip varieties have on average come under some pressure in terms of price. Other varieties destined for the sea yielded more money per kilo than those intended for the chip industry. There are exceptions such as the Agria variety, but the tons in seed potato size of Agria are often somewhat disappointing compared to other chip varieties. According to Van Hoogen, seed potato growers are less keen on growing chip varieties. "We have been paying more for export varieties to Africa, for example, than for French fry varieties in recent years. Seed potato growers prefer to supply some Fontane and prefer to grow an export variety such as Arizona. That does not entirely fit with market development. The area of Fontane's seed potatoes will also increase somewhat this year. down, purely because we can't accommodate it."
Seed potato exports by sea - and especially to Africa - have been booming in the past two years, but the future remains uncertain. Assuming that a lot of volume is shipped every year and that good prices are paid is too simplistic. "The question is what overseas exports will be like in the future. Algeria had a good market last year, but that could soon be a lot less. Transport also remains expensive and they must be able to continue to pay for it. Prices are going up It is also increasing there and farmers there also have to earn a living. At a certain point it will stop. It may soon be different that the prices for seed potatoes intended for fries become higher than for the export varieties."