With the special growing season barely behind us, the price level of the organic table potato market is much higher than last season. The sales options later in the storage season also seem to be good so far. The organic onion market is off to a rough start to the season.
With late spring followed by a summer, very wet period with phytophthora, there were plenty of challenges for the organic potato grower. The fungus took quite a bite, but just like with conventional potato cultivation, quite a few extra kilos were added afterwards. The yields do not match the long-term average, but where phytophthora remained under control, the storage warehouses are becoming quite full. Growers are surprised at what has grown in recent times. Opinions in the field differ about quality. More clarity will be provided about this in the coming weeks. But bottom line, 2023 is not an average cultivation year, an insider indicates.
There are no clear figures on the area, but it can be assumed that organic potato cultivation has shrunk slightly again, given the yield and the challenging cultivation. This, together with the yields, makes the total volume of organic potatoes smaller this season compared to the 2022 harvest.
In recent years, sales have not always been good during the harvest period, but the demand for organic potatoes is generally quite good at the moment. This is also noticeable in price formation, which is under slight pressure. "It is normal that prices are under pressure during the harvest period due to the increasing supply. In addition, growers want to benefit from the current prices and are willing to do business," says an insider. The DCA Indicative Price for organic table potatoes in week 40 amounts to €57 to €63 per 100 kilos. This means that the price is a lot lower than for the very early potatoes.
Last season, the long-term keepers were also able to add a plus towards the end of the season. Due to the shortage of potato products, prices rose towards €50 per 100 kilos towards the summer. It is still too early to draw conclusions about the sales opportunities for this season, but the first signals for exports, for example, are positive. First everything has to be behind the shelves.
Organic onions are not yet popular
The organic onion market is a lot more difficult. "There is currently no structural demand for Dutch organic onions," says an insider. With the harvest moment not yet formally over, it is still too early for the sale of free onions. The majority of the onions are under contract or covered by fixed agreements. The grower price is currently under some pressure for organic onions and the DCA indication price for organic yellow onions is €45 to €50 per 100 kilos.
It is a fact that the yields are not that bad, but most organic growers have the ability and knowledge to irrigate and that has paid off. The biggest and most discussed point now is mainly what the quality of the onions will do this year.