The surplus of French fries potatoes is also clearly noticeable on the feed market. It is 'peak pressure', says a trader who is being bombarded with feed potatoes by the processing industry. A big contrast with previous years when there were sometimes hardly any feed potatoes available. Livestock farmers are showing interest, but the large supply is nevertheless putting considerable pressure on prices. On other fronts, the market for roughage and by-products is very calm and it is a matter of waiting for the new straw to appear.
A round of phone calls through the market shows that there is an extremely large supply of feed potatoes. In recent weeks, the DCA indicative price remained stable at €40 per ton, but this week it drops back to €32,50 and business is also being done for €30. This is the lowest level in five years. The current situation is also reminiscent of the spring of 2020 when demand for fries collapsed due to the corona crisis and there were also many feed potatoes in circulation. In recent years, the supply was often limited, but now there are 'old-fashioned many feed potatoes on the market again', according to a trader.
In the past few days he has done more than 25 loads per day, which he receives from various large potato processors in the Netherlands and Germany. Another trader turns over at least as many loads per day and says that the processing industry rejects almost everything these days. Traders and growers with stocks therefore ask the forage trade to empty the sheds directly. In addition, a relatively large number of seed potatoes are sold as cattle feed, as well as French fry products, of which the stocks are also large.
Free loading
In Germany, this trader can already collect feed potatoes from growers for free. In the Netherlands, they currently pay around €12,50 per ton. Potatoes for fermentation are also loaded in the Netherlands without a purse. He does not rule out that arable farmers will eventually have to pay money if the current situation continues. Growers are currently offering large volumes of sometimes hundreds of tons, which is not easy for traders to keep up with.
For livestock farmers, the market has turned quite a bit. About three months ago, they were still paying €50 per tonne and there was good demand. Due to the lower prices, the demand is still there, but due to the warm weather, livestock farmers are now sometimes dropping out again. After all, feed potatoes are difficult to keep in good condition.
Oversupply continues
The feed traders know the cause of the oversupply. They also expect the situation to continue in the new season. They often visit (retiring) livestock farmers who planted potatoes en masse last spring and this spring, while arable farmers have also expanded their areas. For individual livestock farmers, this involves dozens of hectares of potatoes, whether or not under contract. Combine this with the growing weather (and the stocks that are still available) and the oversupply is easy to see. With the knowledge we have now, livestock farmers can get their hands on cheap feed potatoes in the coming months. It seems only a matter of time before the price drops below the €30 mark. The new potatoes will soon be harvested and the processing industry is also taking a summer break that sometimes lasts longer than expected.
New straw on the way
On other fronts, the feed market is very quiet. New straw is expected from France from the beginning of July and that is something we are waiting for. They are expected to start combining there today or tomorrow. This week too, the DCA indicative price remains at €185 per tonne, for both barley and wheat straw. It is expected that straw prices will drop considerably in the off-land period. The DCA indicative price of brewers' grains remains stable this week at €3,70 per percent dry matter. This means that the increase of the past period is not continuing, although the supply remains limited.
Click here to view the DCA indicative prices in the database.