The fact that there are rumblings within the PotatoNL listing committee is not news to the loyal followers of the potato market. The conflict has now escalated to such an extent that there is no prize on the board at all this week.
With four transactions on the Pat list, there seemed to be no problem for the potato listing. That was just a little different today. The core of the problem is how well, or not, the protocol is adhered to. Co-delivery kilos are not officially allowed to be included, but they formed an important part of the transactions for the listing in recent weeks. Not much could be done in return from the trade and growers. Until this week, a Dutch trader with good connections in Germany opened a tender for Innovators. The prices rose to €18,50, delivered free. According to insiders, grower prices for a variety like Agria are still somewhat higher for smaller chip processors, comparable to export (which is still on the plate, by the way).
Icy atmospheres
For various reasons, these transactions do not meet all the conditions in the listing protocol. Both growers and processors are very principled this week. The co-delivery kilos have been a thorn in the side of growers for some time and for processors, Innovator's transactions are non-negotiable this week (trade-trade transaction). Even what was written on the board or in the comments caused resentment. In the end it was not listed, but this suggests that there is no trading. According to some, this does not do justice to what is going on in the market. There is trade, but the committee could not reach an agreement.