News Turnover
Flemish fries potato loses sharply in price
In Flanders, the prices of free chips potatoes have fallen 66% this year compared to 2019. This is apparent from figures from Boerenbond. Turnover in arable farming is shrinking by no less than 18%. Despite this, the turnover of Flemish agriculture and horticulture as a whole shows a slight increase.
'Although corona also hit the agricultural and horticultural sector hard, the resilience and entrepreneurship of the sector have been able to ensure the continuity of production and global turnover,' Boerenbond notes. The Flemish agricultural and horticultural organization annually evaluates the production year and makes an estimate of the annual results. This shows that the turnover in 2020 will be €5,8 billion. This is an increase of 0,6% compared to 2019.
Fries potatoes hit hardest
However, the differences in turnover between and within sectors are large. While the consequences of the corona crisis were disastrous for one company, other companies withstood the crisis relatively well. Companies in the potato chip segment have been hit particularly hard. The temporary closure of the catering industry and the cancellation of events ensured that only a third of the average price in 2019 was left this year.
This specifically concerns chips potatoes that are traded on the free market, which is approximately 40% of the total. The other 60% of the production is grown under contract. Contract prices rose on average by about 2020% in 2,5 compared to 2019. All in all, there is an average price decrease of 25%. Globally, turnover is expected to be 30% lower than in 2019.
The price and sales of hops and sugar also suffered considerably. The same applies to veal and beef, pork and chicken and various dairy products and greenhouse vegetables. Increasing retail sales could not make up for the losses.
Arable crop turnover is falling
The situation in the chips potatoes is one of the reasons that turnover in Flemish arable farming will fall by 18% this year. The harvest results also influence this. Boerenbond expects a lower yield in ware potatoes than the multi-year average. In combination with the acreage that has remained the same, total production would shrink by 7,2% compared to 2019.
Potatoes, grains and sugar beet are the most important arable crops in Flanders. The combination of a lower grain harvest with slightly more favorable pricing results in an expected decline in grain turnover of about 13%. The turnover of sugar beet, on the other hand, is growing by 10%, which is entirely due to the higher sugar yields.
Jeanette Pennings
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