If there is one thing that stands out in the potato processing figures, it is how stable they have been in recent months. That will not change in May. The pace has increased somewhat, but it still looks like chip manufacturers are using their stock sparingly.
Last May, Dutch processors processed 336.100 tons of potatoes into fries and other frozen potato products. This is evident from figures from the Association for the Potato Processing Industry (Vavi). This means that almost 5.000 more tons were processed than in April. Last May, 332.900 tons were processed. The five-year average is 311.740 tons. Records will not be broken this season. For example, in the 2021 crop year, 355.700 tons were processed in May.
More imports
Of the potatoes processed in May, 35,8%, or 120.500 tons, came from abroad. Last May this was 115.800 tons or 34,8%. Last month, 152.400 tons of pre-fried fries and 27.400 tons of other frozen potato products were produced. The processing efficiency is 53,5%. That is slightly lower than the last two years in this month, when the return was 54,6% and 54,2% respectively.