The bingo wheel has spun for the last time and the final sales result has been recorded. DCA Market Intelligence’s Potato Bingo did not achieve its lowest result ever in the 2025/26 season. You can read how that is possible in this article.
Since 2008, DCA Market Intelligence has organized the Potato Bingo. Based on bingo balls corresponding to a sales week, a batch of potatoes was sold entirely at random. The 2025/26 season also demonstrates flawlessly that the potato futures market acts as a shock absorber in the physical market. It smooths out the peaks and valleys.
Not the lowest ever
The average sales result of €8,73 per 100 kilos of potatoes is naturally loss-making, but not the lowest price ever in the bingo. That record belongs to the 2014/15 season, when an average of €7,27 was achieved. The difference compared to the previous harvest year is, of course, particularly large: €21,70 or 71%. The results for the 2020 and 2017 harvest years also show a similar trend.
De potato futures market has now completed its final trading day. Although the EEX in Leipzig has not yet officially closed for potatoes, trading in June contracts is no longer possible. With that, the final cash settlement has been completed, and the lights can be turned off.
Peak at 16,90 euros
The Potato Bingo had its final trading period as early as the beginning of April (week 15). In the last two periods, the result amounted to €3,10 per 100 kilos in both cases. A somewhat positive result was achieved due to the sales results prior to the harvest. The peak last season was between weeks 20 and 25, when the average price on the futures market was €16,90.
The average post-harvest selling price of €6,12 is significantly lower than before. Prices of €11 to €16,90 are not great, but they do make a big difference in a negative season like 2025/26.
PotatoNL scores lower
It is interesting to see how the bingo result compares to the other sales methods. In the same trading period, the average PotatoNL quotation for category 1 came in at €6,44 per 100 kilos. This is mainly due to the high physical prices in the spring of 2025. Between April and early July, the price level eroded from €21,25 to €5,50. After the harvest, the result did not exceed €2,75, making it questionable whether free-market potatoes could be sold at all.
The Potato Bingo is often a good indicator of the results of potato pools. This year, however, that may not be the case. Although a sales result was recorded on the futures market, in practice it was difficult here as well to match buyers and sellers. To what extent the pools were able to hedge prior to the harvest remains to be seen. Selling has also been very difficult after the harvest.
Importance proven
In a season where every euro counts, bingo has shown that using the potato futures market always offers added value. With the discontinuation of this sales instrument, growers are losing an important tool to hedge their financial risk. In practice, the risks will actually shift more to the grower. The fact that the futures market is disappearing precisely now is therefore particularly bitter. There are essentially no alternatives available. Time will tell what impact this will have on the potato market and the entire sector.