More and more potato processors attach value to the sustainable cultivation of French fries potatoes, with an eye for nature and the environment. This vision is inspired by their buyers, especially in Europe. It is precisely there that potato cooperative Nedato sees an important role for itself. 'We have a broad knowledge of the cultivation plan of our growers, we can extract added value from that for all parties', say outgoing director Wim van de Ree and his successor, Nicole van Doorn.
Nicole, you have been the general manager of Nedato since January. How has that transition gone?
NvD: "Wim and I are still working on the transfer, it is a soft landing. We visit growers, customers and other relations. It is good that sufficient time is taken for this, to be able to transfer matters properly. Of course I cannot take over the 24 years of potato knowledge that Wim has built up from one day to the next. That takes time. Wim will officially stop on 9 May, but will remain involved in the company until 1 October."
It is noticeable that in your career you were mostly on the purchasing side, including at Hanos, Shell, Spar, Boni, NS and Scherpenhuizen. Is that an advantage for Nedato?
NvD: "I have indeed been able to gain a lot of knowledge in retail and purchasing. I have less experience with potatoes, but I do have experience with chips and snacks. We sold a lot of those at NS and Hanos, for example, and of course also in the supermarket channel. Nedato is traditionally farmer-driven and has a very good bond with its growers. Especially through close guidance all year round. That is our strength for the future. Nedato is an operating company with two large cooperative shareholders. On the one hand, the growers in cooperative Nedato and on the other hand cooperative FarmPlus. I have experience with working in a cooperative context, but it is logical that I will be closely involved with the sales side."
More and more processors are coming up with their own programs for regenerative or sustainable cultivation, for example. Is that what you are aiming for?
WvdR: "That is also the trend we see. We launched the Harvest Pride concept for this in 2024. You cannot view potato cultivation separately from other crops on the arable farm. Thanks to our shareholder FarmPlus (formerly CZAV, CAV Agrotheek, Luc Pauwels and Crop Solutions ed.) we now have coverage throughout the Benelux. The advisors visit growers not only for potatoes, but also for other crops. We now work together with Farm Frites, Lamb Weston and Aviko to provide knowledge about cultivation in addition to potatoes."
What does that look like in practice for a grower?
WvdR: "We work with the Biodiversity Monitor Arable Farming (BMA) for this. It is important that you measure what you do. Within the program, we draw up KPIs in consultation with the grower. These include targets for, for example, CO2 reduction, organic matter and mineral balance and other sustainability factors. This makes sustainability transparent. Buyers of fries find this very interesting. For example, we are now sitting at the table with McDonald's."
NvD: "We have a long-term vision of how we want to organise potato cultivation in 2030. This includes 'green fries'."
Only a small part of the fries produced in the Netherlands and Belgium is consumed here. Do those green fries also play a role for export countries?
WvdR: "That's where the story is indeed different. When you ask experts in the sector, the expectation is that in the long term a third to half of all fries produced will be sustainable. Of course, there will still be a sales market for 'traditional' fries. In the future, it will therefore become increasingly important for a grower to know for which sales market he grows potatoes. Nedato holds up a mirror to the entrepreneur. On which soil does he grow, which varieties and how is his company set up in terms of storage. We then link the grower to the right buyer. We have been doing that successfully since 1963."
Currently, growers who participate in programs receive a higher price or other (financial) conditions. When it becomes commonplace in the long term, will this advantage disappear?
WvdR: "It should be explicitly not license to produce become! We advocate that the efforts of the growers are priced separately. That is why benchmarking and making it transparent by means of KPIs and measurements is so important. Look at PlanetProof or the Better for program of Albert Heijn. There is also a clear additional price paid that compensates for the secured and measurable efforts."
Something completely different: last summer Nedato launched the Service2Potato platform. Are you satisfied with the progress?
WvdR: "We had some teething problems in the beginning, but now everything is running smoothly. Seed potatoes have been added as a trading category and international companies can also participate. The payment system for this took some getting used to. We have no illusions: it will take at least three years to get off the ground. A lot is already happening digitally in the fruit and vegetable trade. Sooner or later, that will happen with potatoes too. What doesn't help is the current season, in which there is little interest in free potatoes. Up until now, we have mainly facilitated transactions in the export market. A total of 10.000 tonnes have been traded via the platform to date."
Isn't that characteristic of today's potato market, fewer and fewer free potatoes?
WvdR: "Processors are increasingly securing volume, but that is only possible if you can also secure your sales prices. That option is not always available. In practice, up to 80% is secured by a factory. Of that, 50% is on a fixed-price contract and the rest in other ways. In our opinion, there will always be between 20% and 30% of free potatoes on the market. You have to deal with fluctuations in production, certainly in Europe. Incidentally, the transactions for free potatoes do determine the pricing of potatoes, which is very important. We are therefore very pleased that we have a PotatoNL again. When you look at the other European countries, the prices are clearly higher, which benefits the growers. By having Nedato grow more dual-purpose varieties, such as Alegria and Karelia, we can also participate in the export market."
What will change when you are completely at the helm, Nicole?
NvD: "Nedato is not suddenly going to change course, but we do have several plans that will be announced in the near future. For now, it is especially important to keep calm in this potato market, and as a cooperative we will continue to look for added value for our members."