Europa: Potato industry navigating the aftermath of Northern Europe’s wet and delayed harvest
After a very wet and delayed harvest in Northern Europe, an increasing supply has begun to enter the market as growers look to move late harvested potatoes which were left in saturated ground for extended periods, as Harry Campbell reports in a news
The influx of these lower quality potatoes, which are being sold directly from field to processor, has limited upward movements in the market with the Mintec Benchmark Prices for Dutch processing Potatoes assessed at €207.50/mt on 12 December, unchanged week-on-week (w-o-w).
Campbell points out that the worst affected regions have been the Netherlands and Belgium with the NEPG stating that 15% and 11% of the Dutch and Belgian crops were still in the ground on 24th November. Although the harvest has continued, market sources have commented that with the wet weather forecast in December, they expect a proportion of the remaining crop to be abandoned.
Market analysts are closely monitoring the situation. The current stability in potato prices is seen as a temporary phase by many in the industry. They anticipate a price increase once processors have utilized the late-harvested crop. A notable concern is the availability of free-buy potatoes for the remainder of the season. With a higher than normal proportion of the crop being processed early, availability is expected to be tight.
Source: Mintec. Original story here
Fuente: https://www.potatonewstoday.com/2023/12/14/wet-weather-woes-the-struggle-of-northern-europes-potato-harvest/
