in the potato market is dejected. There is still a large supply of the old harvest and new harvest is arriving from various corners. "The market is very calm," says a Belgian potato trader. "Usually April is very busy toward Eastern Europe with the old harvest, but not this season. This has to do with the warm winter and the lower consumption. Everyone also thought that Germany was empty, but there were still parties on the market in recent months. This meant that the volumes going to Eastern Europe were mainly coming from Germany."50 Euro per tonne
He indicates that there is still a lot of supply. "It was a very different market last year, when we were occupied with England. This year stocks were lower, but we're hearing about leftovers. Some of the growers have stored and waited for better prices, but they're only going down. They aren't that good this year. The price decrease started at the beginning of April. The price for the standard quality, not suitable for chips, that go to the packaging stations the purchasing price at the grower is 50 Euro per tonne."
A lot of new harvest already
The trend to lower prices continues. "A lot of new harvest is being offered and Spain is also starting up again. Other European countries like Italy and Greece are also getting there. The prices for new potatoes are also a lot lower. Last year they were practically being fought over, but the situation is the complete opposite at the moment." The new potatoes from Belgium are expected two weeks earlier this year. "They will be in the middle of harvesting in mid June, so we will have our own new crop within 6 weeks."
This year nothing went from Europe to Russia due to the import ban. "Other countries profited from this, like Egypt. If we had had Russia, the situation would have been completely different. They would have preferred the old harvest, as it's cheaper than the new one. The atmosphere would have been very different, we would have had better prices for the old harvest too." Negotiations with Russia are ongoing. "There was progress in seeding, but the fresh market will take a while. There are, of course, tensions around the Ukraine that will not be easily resolved."
