French fries company Aviko has announced the pool prices for the 2023 harvest. According to the Potato Growers Committee (ATC), the past chip potato season was characterized by extremes. 'Despite lower volumes in the pool, a high pool price was still achieved, above the PotatoNL quotation.'
The pool prices were presented at the growers' meeting on Wednesday. The average pool price in the pool without pre-sale is €354,71 per tonne and in the pool with pre-sale at €329,59 per tonne. The spread runs from €258,35 per tonne for Fontane delivery week 45 in the pool with presales to €471,38 per tonne for Innovator delivery week 30 in the pool without presales. The average price on the PotatoNL over this period was €352,28 per tonne.
Fewer potatoes
"The yields were disappointing, which meant we had approximately 20.000 tons fewer potatoes in the pool than we had expected in advance," says André Broeze, chairman of the ATC, when asked. "The disappointing returns meant that we had to be very critical about our stocks to be sold." The price difference between early and late delivery is relatively large. "We do not work with scales and a storage fee, as is usual with contracts," Broeze explains. "The pool price must reflect the market situation. Growers who take the risk and incur the costs of long-term storage may also benefit from this in the pool."
According to Broeze, growers' reactions to the pool price were mainly positive during the growers' meeting. "Of course, some growers had hoped for more, given the quotations in recent weeks. But we were able to achieve an above-average pool price and the vast majority are satisfied with that."