Spain (Castile and León): Potato producers predict a 15% reduction this season due to excessive heat.

"It’s a bad year, in general, and for several reasons." Eduardo Arroyo, president of the Association of Potato Producers of Castilla y León (Appacyl), is blunt about the current situation for producers in the region, which is still in the harvest season. In this regard, the farmer points out that the campaign has seen poor production "in general," with a harvest reduction of between 15 and 20% "for almost all producers."

According to Arroyo, this is compounded by the low prices being paid and the large amount of produce arriving from France, which makes it very difficult to find buyers for those without a contract. "What’s having the greatest impact is that prices are low, and in some cases, very low. Contracts are being held and respected, but those with a contracted quantity are having difficulty with production," he explains. Along these lines, he describes the situation as a bad year for both "the farmer who has a contract due to low production, and for those who don’t have a contract and are experiencing problems due to the market situation, falling prices, and excess production in France."

Reduction

Regarding the reduced harvest, the president of Appacyl focuses on the  excessive temperatures  experienced during the warmer months, particularly in August and June, which "caused the cycle to be interrupted, resulting in a significant drop in yield." In any case, he emphasizes that the culinary quality of the product "is good."

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Arroyo explains that the difficulties for producers seeking buyers center on the excess potato production in the rest of Europe, especially in France. "It’s true that the market is flowing, but a lot of potatoes are coming in from France. Furthermore, the problem is that the needs of the large baggers are being met with potatoes from the neighboring country," he laments. The president of the regional potato producers points out that France planted one million tons more last season. "It’s doing better than us and has about 600,000 tons left, which it intends to sell in Spain," he announces. Arroyo believes that producers "should have streamlined their operations more when all the large baggers were here. From now on, it will be more difficult for them to enter the market, especially for the washing companies; those for processing are gradually leaving."

These challenging times for the sector come after years of booming potato production. The product has enjoyed good prices in recent years and has been well accepted by the markets. Furthermore, due to these factors, coupled with the decline of other crops such as sugar beets, the potato planting area has increased by around 15% this year in Castile and León.

The potato harvesting campaign began in mid-June in the region, about ten days behind average. Extreme heat has led to reduced yields in most of the region.