For the third week in a row, the DCA Spot Price for French Fries Potatoes has risen a notch. The biggest news came from Belgium. For the first time in a long time, there was movement in the Belgapom. The price from Belgium came too late for the Cash Settlement.
The DCA Spot Price for French Fries Potatoes has increased by more than €1 to €16,61 per 100 kilos. As is known, there is still no official quotation from the Netherlands. The quotations in Belgium, Germany and France were on the rise. After ten weeks of putting €12,50 on the board, the Belgapom came up with €15 last Friday. The contribution from Belgium was the biggest increase in the spot price. Germany narrowly passed the €20 limit this week. The average contribution from our eastern neighbours amounts to €20,06
The EEX paints a slightly different picture of the potato market with the Cash Settlement (CS). The CS has fallen by €0,10 to €15,60 and is therefore €1 lower than the spot price. The organization behind the futures market itself compiles a Dutch potato price and this has lost almost €0,50 and comes to €18,99. The contribution from Germany has also been set slightly lower in the CS at €15,68. The increase in the Belgapom only came after the CS was set and that is partly why the contribution from Belgium has probably remained the same at €14,23.
The difference between the Spot price and the CS may well be a sign of the contradiction in the potato market. On the one hand, there are growers who are not entirely sure whether the potatoes can be stored well or parties where things are already going wrong that are causing a pressure on supply. Growers with good potatoes in the shed are in no hurry to sell. They easily keep the door closed. From the perspective of risk spreading, they may be willing to do something, but certainly not at any price.