The first bankruptcy report from trustee Frans Aartsen in the handling of the bankruptcy of potato processor CêlaVíta doesn't bode well for those still owed money. However, affected growers who were able to terminate their contracts are now seeing some opportunities to find a market for their product.
At the start of the harvest season, the potato processor from Wezep in Gelderland was declared bankrupt. The timing couldn't have been worse. Around a hundred contract growers, with approximately 1.200 hectares of potatoes grown specifically for CêlaVíta, suddenly found their sales blocked. The gates were locked, and with immediate effect, no more shipments could be delivered.
Hopeless restart
There was some hope for a restart, but that was soon lost cross outThe chosen ownership structure of investor Nimbus, in which the factory and the site were transferred to another private limited company for next to nothing, made a fresh start impossible by definition. Overnight, the contracts were worthless. And what could be done with these specially grown potatoes?
There's a small ray of hope now. Several traders from the Netherlands and Germany are showing some interest. They're asking for samples here and there. And the finer the better in this case. Fine potatoes aren't in abundance, now that the potatoes have grown very coarsely this year thanks to favorable conditions.
Potato prices doubled
Growers shouldn't expect an immediate profit, but there's still a small return on the potatoes. PotatoNL recently reported prices of around €3 to €3,50 per 100 kilos being paid for these potatoes. These prices now appear to have almost doubled. Offers of €5,50 to €6,00 per 100 kilos are being made here and there.
Competitors like Peka Kroef, Quik's Quality Potatoes, and Schaap Holland are receiving more requests from retailers following CêlaVíta's bankruptcy and could therefore use more potatoes. Growers who were left with their potatoes due to CêlaVíta's demise can take heart from this. Hopefully, this will help them limit the damage. On the one hand, they will still receive a small portion of the costs reimbursed. On the other hand, it will prevent the potatoes from being left behind and causing a new problem next year.
Pauses in processing
The potato market remains very quiet. French fry factories are regularly shut down because production capacity now exceeds sales. In that light, processing figure We're still talking about September. Just over 300.000 tons of potatoes were used by factories, meaning processing was even slightly higher than a year ago. Moreover, the larger volume of processed potatoes from Dutch soil is a welcome sign for Dutch growers.
It's unlikely this will happen again this month. October is traditionally a month when a considerable number of potatoes are processed directly from the fields. There are more than enough potatoes available directly from the fields, but the factories are reluctant to produce more than necessary. With all the breaks being taken, it doesn't look like the 340.000 tons of potatoes will be processed this month, as was the case last October.
Clarebout strike ended
A positive note on the French fry market is that the factories of the Belgian French fry company Clarebout have resumed operations after a strike lasting over two weeks. According to the manufacturer, the factories are now operating at 90% of their capacity. This is desperately needed, as approximately 80.000 tons of potatoes were not processed during the strike.
With all the pauses other producers have implemented, the delivery of contract potatoes has fallen significantly behind schedule. Potatoes that were originally scheduled for mid-September are still being loaded. This isn't the case everywhere, but as long as some processors are backlogged in contract potato purchases, there won't be any room for free potatoes.
Export options
For the time being, growers of free Agria potatoes will continue to rely on export opportunities. This week, the German company Reka-Rheinland is maintaining the price of these potatoes at €7 per 100 kilos. Innovator, at €3 per 100 kilos, is performing slightly better than the main variety Fontane. At €1,50 per 100 kilos, the latter yields less than by-products from potato processing. In the case of potatoes sold for delivery, buyers are more than happy to part with the product. French fry producers prefer that growers find other uses for it. In Belgium, this is reflected in prices ranging from €0,50 to €1,50 per 100 kilos at Viaverda and Belgapom.