The seed potato company in Luttelgeest, which was caught labeling ware potatoes into seed potato, is being imposed heavy measures by the seed potato trading houses involved. Both HZPC and Agrico no longer enter into a cultivation agreement with the company.
The news, which was reported by watchdog Breeders Trust on Thursday, November 22 published, is cutting into the (seed) potato sector. It is causing great outrage among seed potato and consumer potato growers. During the Interpump it was talked about a lot. Many potato growers see it as a possible turning point for the sector.
Tightened supervision?
In the press release, the NAK announced that it was imposing 'appropriate measures' on the company, which classified consumption potatoes of the Fontane and Innovator varieties as seed potatoes and mixed them into the seed potato flow. The NAK does not wish to comment substantively on details of the measures. It only indicates what the legally established procedure is. The grower will be under increased supervision by the NAK for 3 years. If he violates the law again, the certification will be terminated.
It is not the first time that a grower has imposed restrictions supervision of the NAK. A major difference with the current case, however, is that the partnership was well known in the sector and also produces a significant volume of starting material.
breach of trust
Company H from Luttelgeest grew and supplied seed potatoes to the trading companies of HZPC and Agrico. Both Gerard Backx (CEO of HZPC) and Jan van Hoogen (CEO of Agrico) speak of a breach of trust, which has far-reaching consequences for the relationship between the trading company and the grower.
- Gerard Backx
"It will be clear that there is no longer any trust in such a grower. If there is no trust, we cannot have or build a relationship with the grower," says Backx. "We will not enter into an agreement with this grower for the 2019 harvest. He will therefore not be a seed potato grower for HZPC."
Board decides on membership
Van Hoogen also states that the grower will not be allocated any area by Agrico in 2019. “Our board will decide whether to cancel membership,” he added. "We (as a shareholder) will consult with Breeders Trust to see whether this is an incident or whether this is becoming more common. We believe that this cannot be tolerated in our beautiful seed potato sector."
It is not yet certain what will happen to the potatoes produced this year. According to Backx, this is still being closely investigated. “It's not that all races and parties are incorrect,” he says. According to Breeders Trust data, at least 200 tons of ware potatoes have been classified as seed potatoes.
Sector damaged
It is already suggested in the sector that trading companies are eager to acquire the more than 100 hectares of seed potatoes that the company cultivates. After all, there is great demand for expanding the area. Yet it seems that other trading houses do not want to burn their fingers in this either. After all, the entire Dutch seed potato sector is affected by the news.