Frost can destroy crops on the land

According to Cosun Beet Company, the 6.500 hectares are divided into 3.000 hectares on the northern sandy soils, 2.500 hectares on the clay soils and 1.000 hectares in the southeast of our country. Harvesting has been virtually impossible in recent weeks due to persistent rainfall. 2024 has also started soaking wet. Between 40 and 60 millimeters fell across the country. A fair amount of precipitation has also fallen in Belgium.

Potatoes still to be harvested
It is a lot more difficult to predict exactly how many potatoes still need to be harvested. It is clear that there are still potatoes in the ground in all growing areas. However, in December, for example, Brabant, Drenthe, Groningen and Flevoland were gradually cleared. The conditions for this were nothing to write home about, but at least the necessary hectares were saved.

In the southwest, most of the potatoes for consumption still have to be harvested. In Zeeland this concerns several hundred hectares on the islands such as Schouwen-Duiveland. This is less on the South Holland islands and in West Brabant, but there is no sign of grubbing up there either.

Smallest harvest in 5 years
Of the total area of ​​75.500 hectares of ware potatoes, 5% to a maximum of 10% still needs to be harvested. Then you are talking about 3.755 to 7.550 hectares. Good for 167.000 to 333.500 tons, or 4% to 9% of the total volume in our country. If these potatoes can no longer be harvested due to frost or water damage, the Dutch potato harvest will be the smallest volume since 2018.

In Germany, a small portion of the potatoes still need to be harvested. This mainly concerns starch potatoes in the border area with Groningen and Drenthe. In other growing areas the harvest is completed in November.

Potatoes in Flanders
The greatest pain may be in Belgium, and West Flanders in particular. Despite the fact that there has been little clearing last month, there is still a significant area in the ground, which is probably as large or slightly larger as ours. This concerns just under 10%, which amounts to a maximum of 9.500 hectares. In Northern France, potatoes also had to be harvested, but given the flooding that occurred there, these crops have probably already been written off.

Such estimated volumes do not panic the potato processing industry, but it does mean that the previously sketched picture of the 2023 harvest has turned out very differently. The volume of potatoes that can still be harvested next spring will probably be very small, if at all possible.

1 million tons of fog
If you add up all the losses in the EU-4, you quickly arrive at almost a million tons of potatoes that are 'missing' on the market. This means that the total harvest is at the level of 2020 and 2021. It is difficult to estimate the impact of the lower quality. It is known that relatively many lots had to be cleared early due to poor quality, or that simply cannot be stored due to the difficult harvesting conditions. It is remarkable that disapproval on a large scale (or even at all) is not an issue, as a survey among insiders shows. Partly due to new technologies in the processing lines, factories can cope very well with varying production quality and still cut fries and other products from it.

Processors have so far remained calm about securing the 2024 harvest through contracts. They are also trying to get an idea of ​​how the '23 harvest will end and what direction the 2024 crop should take. Both in terms of price and size. Given the expansion of production capacity in the Belgian-French cultivation area, that is where the focus lies for the processors. In this sense, an average wheat price helps to make potato cultivation attractive. In the Netherlands, factories have also quietly expanded their capacity, which does not create less demand for potatoes in our country. The key question remains whether processors have sufficient starting material to meet their area ambitions. The communication from the seed potato companies shows that this is really exciting. Contract or not; Selling something that isn't there is simply not possible.