In recent weeks, the first new potato harvests in Seville have begun timidly (mainly of the early Colomba variety), which promises a very good quality and demand. But it is this week when the start of the new potato campaign in Seville officially begins, with two relevant events for the potato community.
V New Potato Congress of Seville
The first of them was held on Thursday the 28th, with the V New Potato Congress of Seville. Congress that brought together a significant number of farmers, distributors, baggers, potato seed production houses, and phytosanitary companies among others. All aligned with a clear objective: To unify efforts of all actors in the sector to (1) value the excellent quality of the new Spanish potato, (2) respect the role and work of all through appropriate prices and agreements, and (3) invest efforts in improving the sustainability of the crop.
The good organization (with special mention to Marco Román and José M. Pozancos) and the quality of the speakers marked the development of the congress. Highlights were the interventions of Yolanda Medina (Representative ASOPOCYL and President Interprofessional Potato of Castile and León), Alfonso Sáenz of Camera (Committee Chair Potato Fepex), Marco Román (President Sector Potato Asociafruit and commercial director of CONTAGRI), Joan Company (Responsible Sectoral Potato ASAJA Balearic and Manager of ESPLET SAT), Angel Alonso (Director of the Department of Agrarian PEPSICO).
From the point of view of solutions in pest control and fertilization management, companies such as Corteva, Bayer, FMC and Koppert presented their ecological solutions, which we will analyze in future publications.
New Potato Festival 2022
The second of the events that mark the beginning of the new potato in Seville is the New Potato Festival 2022 that is celebrated in San José de la Rinconada. It is an event that aims to promote the gastronomic values of the new potato and its socio-economic relevance in the La Rinconada area.
A festive event in which the start of the campaign is celebrated and a giant potato omelet will be cooked, for 2,000 people, which will be distributed free of charge to all attendees.
It is an initiative of the City Council of La Rinconada, in collaboration with Prodetur, Asociafruit and with the support of the local companies Patatas Arrebola, Patatas Sánchez, DistriSur Agrícola and Comercializadora Andaluza de Patatas (CAP).
More information about the New Potato Festival 2022 on the City Council’s website: https://www.larinconada.es/noticias/11924/comienza-la-cuenta-atras-para-la-fiesta-de-la-patata-2022
The shortage of water has marked the 2021/22 potato campaign in Seville.
As we have already commented on several occasions, the shortage of water has marked the development of the current campaign in Seville. Since November, Seville has been keeping on alert for drought, with announcements of rationing and great concern about the viability of potato cultivation. Which is why (in addition to other problems in the sector, such as the increase in basic material costs), the cultivation area has been reduced.
Como ya hemos comentado en varias ocasiones, la escasez de agua ha marcado el desarrollo de la actual campaña en Sevilla. Desde noviembre, Sevilla ha estado manteniendo la alerta por sequia, con anuncios de racionamientos y una gran preocupación por la viabilidad del cultivo de patata. Razón por la cual (además de otros problemas del sector, como el aumento de los costes de materiales básicos), la superficie de cultivo se ha visto reducida.
The rains of recent weeks have eased the critical situation a little, but still the water shortage continues to be a reality as can be seen in the graph of embalses.net Fortunately, despite the fear of restrictions and the lack of water for irrigation, potato crops in Seville have been able to develop in good conditions.
Delay in the collection of the potato of Cartagena
This year’s potato season in Cartagena has been greatly affected by the intense and sustained rains of May and April. Many plantations have suffered the consequences of excess water and have had their quality and yield reduced.
In addition, due to the rains and cloudy days of recent weeks, the collections, which should be taking place at a good pace, have slowed down because the lands are too wet and heavy.
In short, the delay in the collection of the fields of Cartagena and in some cases, the quality problems observed at the beginning of the campaign, makes the distributors and marketers of new potato of Spain put the focus on Andalusia.
Quality of the New Potato of Seville 2022
The general impression of the farmers of the province of Seville is that the current campaign will be a good campaign, marked by the quality of the tubers. On the contrary, the reduction of the cultivated area and the apparent reduction in crop yield, cause uncertainty about the supply of market demand. Regarding prices, the campaign has started with good prices for the farmer.
In a few days we will collect the opinion of the professionals of the area to know more in detail their vision about the forecasts of the potato campaign in Andalusia.
