Now that the end of April is in sight, many potato plots have been planted. Nevertheless, there is still quite a bit of seed potatoes available, it is said. It is striking that there is almost nothing left of some varieties. Will this lead to an overly large potato area is the question that...
A significant part of this situation stems from various uncertainties, explains Dirk Bos, owner of the potato trading company of the same name. "First of all, there are geopolitical tensions, such as the trade war instigated by Donald Trump, which has an impact on import duties on frozen fries. Belgium and the Netherlands are major exporters of French fry potatoes and the threat of additional duties has led to reluctance among processing factories." In addition, quality plays an important role. For the 2024 harvest, varieties were used that are less or not at all suitable for French fry production, as a result of seed potato shortages last spring.
Consequences for 2025
It seemed that the seed potato shortage in the spring of 2024 would have consequences for the volume of seed potatoes needed for the harvest of French fries potatoes this year. But that turned out differently. The seed potatoes from the 2024 harvest generally turned out to be finer, which is favourable for the hectares to be planted. Furthermore, due to the problems in the spring of 2024, consumer growers have ensured that more certainty is built in by issuing seed potatoes. For example, consumer growers in the Netherlands have started growing more seed potatoes for their own use, according to figures from NAK this is an increase of no less than 36%. Their Belgian colleagues have also pursued the same goal by growing so-called farm seed potatoes. This has created a different dimension in the sale of seed potatoes, particularly for the cultivation of French fries potatoes.
Less contract farming
Furthermore, the malaise in the French fries potato market contributed to the premature termination of contracts. In France in particular, this has led to the planting out less area, while the seed potatoes had already been purchased. Dutch growers seem less likely to lose their bearings and have still started planting without any certainty of purchase. This is also confirmed by traders. A risky choice, but according to Bos understandable given the limited number of alternatives. "Other crops such as sugar beets, grain or vegetables (canned) currently offer little financial perspective."
At the same time, there are also rumors that possibly even more potatoes have been planted than was previously assumed. Despite the uncertainty in the market and the lack of sales contracts, some growers seem to have opted for maximum use of their seed potato stocks or are trying to entrust leftover seed potatoes to the ground for next to nothing. This creates the risk that the area this season will be too large in relation to the expected demand. Whether this will actually turn out to be the case is not clear at the moment, as the figures are not yet available. The season is still young, but there is currently no question of a fresh start in terms of prices.