Slowly but surely, the potato market is making progress. As is often the case, the signal comes from Belgium. It was not possible for the Belgapom quotation committee today (Friday, January 12) to put a price on the board for Fontane and Challenger. The comment on the message was that there would be insufficient transactions.
However, insiders report that no agreement could be reached on a possible increase to, for example, €22 per 100 kilos. That would be in line with the German REKA quotation, which rose this week to that price level (€22) for Fontane, Challenger and Agria. For Innovator, this is already €2 for week 25 of the new year. An overall price increase of €2.
The expectation for the coming months is that the potato market may continue to rise in price to above the €2024 level (if we look at the April 30 futures market). The devil will definitely be in the tail, as the supply of the somewhat later varieties such as Markies and certainly Agria will not be excessive by then. In the physical market, business is already being done above the €30 level for deliveries in April, May and June. The concern that things will be tight in the latter part of the storage season is ubiquitous. How and what the future of the market will be will also depend on the course of the spring.
With her mind on other matters
There is still little mood to be seen in the Netherlands. For example, on Thursday, January 11, another €20 for 350 tons of Fontane was placed on the PAT. Earlier in the week, two transactions totaling just over 250 tonnes of Ivory Russet were reported at €23. The Dutch processors apparently have just as little interest in the market, or better said: they just don't have their heads in it. People are busy preparing for the release of the contracts for the 2024/25 season. Reportedly, this should be known from the beginning of next week. Normally there is not much deviation from the average contract price level of other processors who came out earlier (read: the Belgians). This harvest year may be different. Whether or not you have sufficient seed potatoes can make a difference. If, as a processor, you can have reasonably sufficient seed potatoes and this is reflected in the purchase price, then it is not illogical if this is also reflected in the contract price. Insiders certainly expect a slightly higher price for later delivery in the season compared to the 2023 harvest year, but that is equal to the field period during the delivery season, increasing from €0,50 to €1,50. What it will be will soon become clear.