Free market forces index to its knees

The free markets of potatoes, seed potatoes, onions and wheat have been at low levels for months. As a result, the Countus Arable Farm Index has been unable to rise above the reference of 1 January 2004 since February. Nevertheless, the earning capacity per arable farm is slightly higher than it appears at first glance.

The Index hovered around 60 points in October. This means that the price movements do not deviate much from last month† The Bintje seed potato price remains stable at €28 per 100 kilos, EU feed wheat continues to fluctuate at €171 and €172 per tonne. But the most stable factor is the beet price, which is issued by Cosun once a year.

Potatoes and onions hinder climbing
The price of ware potatoes has fallen over the past 4 weeks from €7 to €5,70 per 100 kilos, while onion prices have risen cautiously from €5,50 to €6,50 per 100 kilos. The last 2 crops in particular hinder the Index from making an upward move.

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However, it is good to realize that this financial picture does not apply to all arable farms. The Index is a reflection of the free market as it is today. 

However, not all arable farmers have all their crops free. They have (partially) covered themselves by means of fixed contracts, they spread their sales through a pool or they trade on the futures market. This means that the earning capacity is better than the Index suggests. Growers with fixed price agreements are better off this season for the time being. The Countus Arable Farm Index shows a negative trend.

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