Drought in legs: from friend to foe

Last week, the changeable weather caused some delays in the planting activities. This was especially the case in the middle and (south)east of the country in the Netherlands. The southwest – the South Holland islands, West Brabant and Zeeland – are the exception to the rule. There, there was a little bit of rain. Not enough to make the irrigation reels return to the shed.

Summer is coming
In Belgium and France, little significant rain fell. It remains unusually dry there for the time of year. This has not yet led to any major problems, but if the situation continues, this could change quickly. In addition, temperatures will rise to fairly summery values ​​this week. In France, this will reach 30 degrees.

Planting in Western Europe has largely been completed, which is unprecedented for this time of year. Figures from Aviko (until last weekend) came to almost 90% planted for the Netherlands. In Belgium, the work is almost finished and in France, another 10% still needs to be planted. German potato growers still have a bit more work to do.

In our country, it is mainly seed potato growers in Flevoland, the north and the east who are planting and have not been in a hurry. Consumer potato growers in the south and the east are also not ready everywhere. There is no stress. The structure is good, manure was applied on time and the soil cultivation took place under good conditions. Very different from the past two springs, as you often hear. In the southwest, the milling of the ridges is still on the agenda, which is a challenge due to the drought. Water is also needed for that.

Drought does not create a mood
The effect of the rapid spring on the potato market is well known. The consequences are dramatic. Growers with potatoes that can be sold freely hope that a persistent dry weather type will influence the mood in the long term. So far, nothing of the sort has been noticed. Processors have more than enough potatoes to use and that situation is not changing any time soon. You might not think so, when you look at the most recent processing figure looks, but in April the factories have been running quite well. 

A change in sentiment must come primarily from the end product market. Based on what processors indicate, there is still a lack of sales of French fries on the world market. Strong competition and the relatively high price level of European French fries (partly due to an expensive euro) make it unattractive to buy product from the EU-4.

Dry summer?
2022 was the most recent year in which drought had a major impact on European potato yields. The spring was also dry, sunny and cold. Similar to 2025. Ultimately, it was the warm and dry summer that cost kilos to European potato crops.

The impact on this crop year should become clear next month, when the crops come up and start setting. Whether summer starts in May is currently very unpredictable, according to meteorologists. After a warm period, temperatures are expected to drop back to normal values ​​for the time of year.