The Dutch area of seed potatoes is pretty much at its ceiling. The growth of seed potatoes will therefore mainly take place abroad in the coming years. This was stated by Mark Zuidhof, CEO of cooperative Agrico, at the annual general meeting last week.
There, the cooperative seed potato concern presented the results for the 2023/24 financial year. Agrico announced that it had grown in the seed potato area, the company reports in a statement. The 6% loss in seed potato area last year was compensated by the takeovers of the seed potato activities of the Anna Paulowna Seed and Seed Potato Growers Association (ZAP) and The Potato Company (TPC) in Emmeloord. Agrico also grew in area by 3% with 75 new seed potato growers.
Growing abroad
Zuidhof notes, however, that there is quite a bit of room for seed potatoes in the Netherlands. Agrico is therefore aiming for growth abroad in the coming years, starting in Denmark and Germany. "Further growth is urgently needed to strengthen the position in the Dutch seed potato market and to remain a partner of the Western European potato processing industry in particular. In Denmark and Germany, where we have started cautiously this financial year, we want to grow from 0 to 1.000 hectares of seed potato cultivation within four years. In France, the ambition is to grow from 4.000 to 5.200 hectares in the coming five years."
The growth abroad also fits in with the company's revised strategy, Zuidhof indicates. "The spearheads in the new strategy are further growth, especially abroad, but also saying goodbye to less well-performing potato varieties and sales countries with disappointing turnover figures more quickly." Agrico achieved a turnover of €2023 million in the 2024/412 financial year. This means that the turnover is above the €400 million mark, just like the year before, despite the spin-off of the activities in conventional consumption potatoes to the new cooperative PotatoNext.
Optimistic about current season
A total amount of €226 million was paid to the Dutch members. According to Agrico, the turnover from seed potatoes was approximately €29 million higher than the previous year, an increase of 9%. The turnover realised by the foreign subsidiaries is 15% higher than last season. This is mainly due to good market prices, the company reports.
It was already clear that the payout price for the 2023/24 season will be €44,65 per 100 kilos, around €10 higher than the year before. Per hectare, the seed potato growers affiliated with Agrico received around €2.100 more than the previous financial year. CEO Zuidhof is optimistic about the level of the payout price for the current season.