Dutch market remains unique

PotatoNL was late this season and has decided to chart a completely different course. It is clear that Dutch quotations are always slightly higher in the tree than, for example, our southern neighbours. But this year the differences are very large. This is also the case in the DCA EU-4 Potato Index visible. For week 11, PotatoNL continues to deviate from the line in the countries around us.

Belgium sets the trend in the Fontane market with €17,50 per tonne, which is noted by both Viaverda and Belgapom. France and Germany are also on that line. The Netherlands remains just above with €18, although potatoes were also loaded for over €20 last week.

Big differences
The difference at Innovator is bigger. RNM did not list a price at all and Reka put it at €25 last week. The Netherlands is still a step above that with €28,50, although you can place a question mark there. Inquiries with insiders show that the industry is hardly prepared to pay that. Demand for this variety is still noticeable - a bit depending on which processor you speak to - but much more than €25 is not an option. And then preferably also for delivery in the future.

The price of Agria is remarkable, as a white raven in the potato market. It has even risen to €38. In comparison: Reka noted €22 at the end of last week. Now that can be partly explained by the difference between French fry processing and export/fresh French fries. But the gap remains particularly large for one and the same variety!

Bottom
The potato futures market found a bottom last week, just above €21 per 100 kilos. The physical market also feels somewhat tempered with a provisional bottom at €17,50. Growers are certainly not queuing up to sell potatoes and processors are also not eager to buy potatoes at the moment. Many arable farmers are also currently mainly focused on the land. In the early cultivation areas, potatoes are being planted in small quantities. The temperature will drop both during the day and at night this week, but it will remain dry, which means that a lot of work can already be done.

The mood remains anything but positive in the market at the moment and that is not so strange. If there is a considerable growth in area again, then the chance that processors will end up with (much) too many potatoes is very big. That is why ultimately less volume has been committed, or contracts have even been broken. The crops still have to grow, but if the export markets for fries remain negative, this will also affect the potato market itself. Politics remains an uncertain factor in this. Levies and boycotts can have both positive and negative effects for Europe.