It took a while, but the first contracts for the 2024 harvest have been announced. As has often been the case in recent years, it is the Belgian processors who are taking the lead. The Dutch and German factories will normally complete their contracts within the foreseeable future. In other words: before week 2 of 2024 is over, all stakeholders in the sector will know where they stand when it comes to chip potatoes for the 2024/2025 season.
What will happen for the coming harvest year becomes clear when you look at what the first processors from Belgium come up with! After the more than significant increase in the contract price in the EU-4 countries for the current season, Agristo, for example, will go even further for next season to almost €30 per 100 kilos (€29,70 to be precise). for Innovator in week 17 2025. For the largest variety by far, Fontane, the country starts at €25 for delivery week 28 and decreases to €17,50 at the end of September and October and then rises to €27,20 in week 17 , ultimately reaching €30 in week 28 of 2025. For the early Innovator, week 29 starts at €26 on land and then drops to €19,50 in weeks 36 to 43. Further into the season the price increases to €31,20 in week 22 of 2025. Challenger and Markies are in between in terms of price and start at €38 in week 18 and that increases to €31 in week 28.
How processors, especially in the Netherlands, will approach the market cannot be that much different. The biggest difference is that in Belgium contracts are mainly based on tonnes versus tonnes per hectare in the Netherlands. It is impossible to estimate in advance how much volume the Belgians will ultimately commit for the proposed contract price. With an abundant potato harvest, which was still available in September (before it started to rain), the market for free potatoes still to be delivered is unceremoniously set at €10 per 100 kilos. In that sense, the method of contracting by the Dutch factories is clearly different. With knowledge of the contract prices for the 2024 harvest year in mind and knowing as a grower what your area is and assuming an average hectare yield, the choice could be made quickly.
Seed potatoes are the key
A very important element this coming season is the availability and price of the seed potatoes. This will play an important role in the negotiations with the chip factories. As is known, there is a scarcity of seed potatoes. Seed potato areas shrank in the 2023 harvest year, partly as a result of the higher contract price for consumption potatoes, but the growing season was also not really good for the seed potato grower. A dry start to the season resulted in fewer numbers and the harvest was also difficult in some cases. The result is that there is significantly less seed potato available in the right sizes. Large buyers, such as processors, claim the seed potatoes from the trading houses on the basis of multi-year agreements. The point is that more seed potatoes are needed than in previous years because the factories simply need more end product to meet the increased processing capacity. The preliminary conclusion is that seed potatoes will be expensive and limited in availability, which may become a limiting factor in the area of consumption potatoes in the EU-2024 countries, despite the further increased contract prices for the 4 harvest year.