Austria: Austria’s production area at last year’s levels, Bio going for starch
The first nationwide area evaluation for potato cultivation in 2018 shows that in Austria the production areas are increasing by a slight 4%. In Lower Austria and in Burgenland, some adjustments were made. The supply situation remains stable.
Austria’s organic producers are reorienting themselves and expanding their acreage for starchy varieties to approx. 409 hectares (+ 50%). Food-grade potatoes have dropped by 58 hectares (-20%). Due to a strong German harvest in 2017, demand for Austrian products was weaker than expected at German retailers. Potato exports, be they fresh or chilled, dropped by up to 40% in 2017. Due to positive market expectations and attractive pricing, growers have responded to a new situation and are now investing in both the conventional as the organic segment, focusing on contract cultivation.
Lower Austria is one of the largest potato producers nationwide. In 2018, the versatile tubers will be cultivated on an area of 17,940 ha, mainly in the Waldviertel and Weinviertel areas. The distribution shows that individual segments have not changed significantly in the years 2016/2017. Only in the starchy segment, there is a significant upward trend. In this segment, cultivation and pricing takes place within the context of contracts between farmers and the processing industry. The starch-dependent base price for the production year 2017 for conventional goods with 19% starch content was € 65.33/t plus contract and fixed premium and an area premium of € 200/ha. Not only in the food sector, but also in the feed and the processing sector (paper and pharmaceutical industry), demand for high-quality vegetable starch continues unabated.
This year, 30% more land will be used in Lower Austria for starch production compared to two years ago.
While in some federal states the production areas are staying the same or are even slightly diminishing, that of Burgenland has been growing by 26% since 2016. The easternmost German state is -next to Lower Austria- the largest supplier of the food industry and has seen an expansion of industrial potato fields, by 122 hectares or 24% in the last two years.
The Innovator, Russet Burbank and Umatilla varieties are preferred. The acreage used for consumption potatoes will remain unchanged in 2018, with some small changes left and right. Styria will market 69% more new potatoes than two years ago, provided that the conditions for a good harvest remain favourable.
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/195588/Austrias-production-area-at-last-years-levels,-Bio-going-for-starch
