Also today, Thursday 2 November, the Emmeloord listing committee did not come to a listing. No transactions would have been made and thus no listing could be established. What consequences does this have?
We currently have a unique situation in the market, and it is one that the listing committee does not have an answer to at this time. Goes did note this week: €3 to €6. In doing so, they tried to provide direction and interpretation to the market. However, when we look at the potato market, a number of things stand out.
Plenty of harvesting
Firstly, grubbing is still in full swing and it appears that the various industries will be busy receiving their onshore contract obligations well into December. The obligations are met, but no interest is shown in the excess kilos or free potatoes. This has already led to large piles of chip potatoes on the headlands in the sandy areas. Due to lack of storage, these will still come onto the market during November/December.
In Belgium there is also supply from parties for which no buyer can be found. We are looking for livestock farmers who may be interested in collecting them for animal feed.
Compelling offer
The second problem is the compelling supply of lots that have been cleared in the past 6 weeks and are in storage. This includes a considerable number of lots from the sandy areas, harvested under wet conditions and which now appear to be unstorable.
The high yields reported throughout Northern Europe mean that there is a lack of storage capacity. Growers who cannot store them do not ask about the price, but about the availability of a truck and sales. Afraid of early frost or afraid of storing outdoors.
This situation means that there is actually no market at the moment. If you have free potatoes without agreements with a permanent relationship or other buyer, these potatoes are worth €0.
Delivery potatoes
Yet Goes quotes €3 to €6 and there are known transactions of €3,5 to €4 for potatoes. This mainly concerns co-delivery potatoes, with obligations that buyers entered into last winter and for which a price tag must now be attached.
The price of the delivered kilos should actually be between €0 and €2, but processors still pay between €2,5 and €5 to their suppliers. This €2 premium can therefore be seen more as a 'loyalty bonus' than as a reflection of the market.