A lot of Dutch seed potatoes have already been sold to overseas destinations up to and including the end of the year. The North African countries in particular are doing well on the market, according to the export figures of the Dutch Potato Organization (NAO).
Algeria and Egypt in particular bought considerably more Dutch seed in the first part of the marketing season than last year. By December 31, 72,120 tons had already been shipped to Algeria, that was almost 40,000 tons less on the last day of 2020. Traditionally, Algeria is a major buyer of Dutch seed potatoes. But last year sales were limited due to a shortage of payment capacity and government policy to stimulate the cultivation of own seed.
This year, the Algerians seem to be able to benefit from the high oil prices again and are therefore investing in good starting material for their own potato cultivation. The situation is somewhat similar for Egypt. Until the turn of the year, this North African country bought 45,720 tons of seed potatoes from the Netherlands. That is more than 15,000 tons more than last year.https://localfocuswidgets.net/61f8f4f0af4f8
The export counter for Dutch seed potatoes stands at 349,190 tons until 31 December 2021. At this point in the marketing season, this is the highest volume of the past five years. Last year the counter stood at 332,800 tons on December 31. In the end, 730,600 tons of seed potatoes from Dutch growers were sold abroad.
The lead on seed potato exports is mainly due to African destinations such as Algeria and Egypt. Morocco is lagging slightly behind last year’s sales. The Asian countries have also bought less seed so far than last year. Notable laggards are Israel with 14,400 tons (-4,000 tons), Iraq with 10,600 tons (-5,000 tons) and Saudi Arabia with 10,200 tons (-7,000 tons).
Until the end of the year, European buyers have only purchased about 20 percent of their estimated need. That is comparable to previous years. What is striking in any case is that hardly any seed potatoes have been sold to the United Kingdom. This is due to the export restrictions due to Brexit . Normally, the British buy about 15,000 tons of Dutch seed potatoes every year.
In the period from October 2021 to mid-January 2022, Egypt purchased 131,000 tons of seed potatoes, mainly from European suppliers. This is 30 percent more than last year’s purchase of seed potatoes. The PotatoPro website reports this based on information from Egyptian media. This concerns seed potatoes of a total of 76 potato varieties. For Spunta, with 45,000 tons, by far the largest volume of seed potatoes was purchased by buyers in Egypt.
Egyptian potato growers use the seed for the summer cultivation of potatoes. The seed potatoes will be planted in the coming weeks and the harvest is planned for May and June. After Spunta, the Irish potato variety Cara with 21,000 tons is the second variety in terms of supply. The Netherlands exported more than 30,000 tons of seed potatoes to Egypt last year. The preliminary export figures for this year will be announced shortly.
The export of seed potatoes to Algeria is considerably behind compared to previous years. Halfway through the marketing season, this has a significant impact on the total export volume. Algeria bought 44,375 tons of Dutch seed potatoes until the end of February. That is more than 33,000 tons less than last year. Normally, the Netherlands exports between 75,000 and 85,000 tons of seed potatoes to the North African country. The Algerian government has imposed an import quota due to a shortage of currency. Algeria is one of the most important destinations for seed potatoes for the Netherlands.
The loss of part of the sales to Algeria means that exports are lagging behind in volume compared to previous years. A total of 467,215 tons of seed potatoes were sold abroad until the end of February. That is 22,000 tons less than last year on the same reference date.
Belgium calls off more seed potatoes. In addition to Algeria, less seed has been supplied to Italy, Portugal, Spain and Cuba so far this year. The lower export volumes to these countries are partly compensated by Belgium, which with 30,511 tons has already called 20,000 tons more seed potatoes than last year. The supply of seed potatoes in Western Europe often starts a bit later in the season.
What is also striking about the export of Dutch seed potatoes is the larger volume that has already been shipped to destinations in Asia. The counter stood at 118,516 tons at the end of February. That is 16,000 tons more than a year ago. Bangladesh, Israel, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in particular are showing more interest in new starting material this year.
