In theory, Belgium will harvest a top harvest of potatoes for consumption this year, but in practice things are very different. More than half a million tons of potatoes were still in the ground in mid-November and the storage areas were less full than a year earlier. There is great uncertainty about this remaining volume.
The Walloon potato organization expects 2023 million tons of potatoes from 4,85 hectares for the 96.697 harvest year. That amounts to 50 tons per hectare. Slightly less was harvested than in the peak year of 2017, meaning the total at the bottom is still 240.000 tonnes below that. The volume is 880.000 tons greater than what was harvested by farmers in 2022 and 600.000 tons more than average.
550.000 tons in the ground
Fiwap immediately makes an important comment on this. The figures show the theory, while in practice on the reference date of November 15, 11% of the Belgian area was still in the ground, mainly in Flanders. You are then talking about 550.000 tons of potatoes for consumption. Some of them were still harvested in the second half of November, but not all of the potatoes. In addition, there are also inevitably higher storage losses.
If all the potatoes had been harvested, there would be 3,27 million tons in the warehouses of Belgian farmers. However, at least half a million tons must be deducted from that figure because they had not yet been harvested at the time of survey. This means that the actual volume stored is virtually the same as in 2022 and that of the five-year average. If half a million tons can be completely harvested and stored, the stock will be 15% higher than in 2022.
Increased processing capacity
According to the organization, Belgian processing capacity currently amounts to 6,5 million tons. Part of this is filled with imported potatoes from France and the Netherlands, but the 'missing' yield is also desperately needed to keep the recently expanded processing lines running. The fact that market prices have recently risen to €20 per 100 kilos with 880.000 tons more potatoes shows that there is a need for product.
Back to the storage areas, it is interesting to see that the current potato volume is in line with last season. This is not only due to the difficult harvest, but also to the high demand for potatoes. By November 15, 1 million tons of the main harvest had already been delivered from the field or dry from the shed. That is 380.000 tons more than last year and 310.000 tons more than the five-year average. According to Fiwap, this is proof that factories are running at full capacity and demand for products is exceptionally good.
Less volume on contract
In total, Belgian growers have already delivered 1,3 million tons of potatoes until mid-November, including early varieties, compared to 850.000 tons to 1,18 million tons in the last five years. The majority of the potatoes consist of contract potatoes, although a larger volume is available this season. 70% were contracted in advance, compared to, for example, 77% in 2021. Fontane and Innovator in particular are under contract, while Challenger and Bintje are contracted considerably less.