Who would have ever thought that regular chips suitable potatoes would cost €50 per 100 kilos! Reportedly, that would have been paid for loading Fontane next week in Belgium. This is a price-technical record on record.
Not so long ago (the first months of 2023), €30 per 100 kilos was the top end of the market, but in recent weeks the €35, €40, and now €45 level has been rapidly lowered. A market situation that has rarely or never occurred in the European chip potato market in recent decades. Even in the extremely dry 2018 harvest year, no more than €35 was ultimately paid. The April 2019 quotation of the futures market settled at less than €28 at the time. The market price only rose further later in the storage season.
Barometer
The processors can, or rather must, apparently have the potatoes, where the purchase price seems to be less relevant. Now, a demanding market is always positive for potato owners, but it was almost unthinkable that the balance would tip upwards like this. After a cautious sidestep at the beginning of this month in Belgium, where the Belgapom quotation remained at €40 for a while compared to the quotations in the Netherlands and Germany in particular, the throttle is being opened again. Rumors that processors would reduce their workload remain rumors for the time being. The question remains where this almost 'bank run' on potatoes will end and especially at what price level. The storage season is far from over. The fact is that the barometer 'future market' today (Friday, May 19) is trading at €45. The last contract for the 2023 harvest will expire next week, which means that the various quotations will mainly provide the price indication.