Inside Potatoes
Fries potatoes before entering the ship
Now that sales to the French fries industry have stagnated, many potatoes are given animal feed as an alternative destination. This creates a new logistical challenge, which is partly fulfilled by shipping.
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Choose the subscription that suits you“A lot of supply is located in the south-west of the Netherlands, while demand comes from the north,” Gerjan Wielink describes the situation. Wielink Agricultural Trading Company from Dronten therefore provides transport by freight ship. This is loaded with 80 trucks full of French fries potatoes, good for approximately 2.400 tons of potatoes.
Soothing Pain
The ship is loaded in the town of Axel in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The potatoes, which were actually intended for Farmfrites, are now sent to the north of the Netherlands as animal feed raw materials. Wielink: “Due to the corona issues, there is a large surplus of French fries potatoes. Our job is to bring supply and demand together. We want to organize transport as efficiently as possible, to ease the pain for growers.”
According to Wielink, growers can easily empty their cells with this innovative solution. “The potatoes that come out of the cell are of excellent quality. Considering all the energy put into it by growers, it is simply a shame that they cannot be processed regularly.” Wielink Agricultural Trading Company is still investigating whether the transport of French fries potatoes by ship can be continued.
