Belgian processors Agristo and Clarebout are leading the way with significant contract price increases for french fries grown during the 2023 growing season.
Late last week, Agristo announced that the processor would pay €17 for 100 kg of Fontane potatoes shipped by sea. This contract price increases to 28 euros for 100 kg of french fries – suitable potatoes, which will be delivered in the first week of July 2024.
Clarbou then announced a few days later that the company would pay a contract price of 17.50 euros per 100 kilograms of Fontana at harvest time. For the Challenger and Innovator, offshore prices for the 2023 harvest season will even rise to €18 and €20 per 100 kilograms, respectively.
For delivery later in the marketing season, in the case of Fontane, Clarebout publishes indicative prices of 24.35 euros per 100 kg with delivery in April 2024. This amount is further increased to 27 euros for potatoes stored until the end of the season.
positive signal
In response to the Vilt.be website, Christophe Vermeulen, CEO of the Belgian trading corporation Belgapom, said this is a positive signal from potato processors. He argues that this highlights the industry’s respect for soaring costs on farms.
In addition, according to Vermeulen, the Agristo and Clarebout initiative is in line with the trend of increasing contract prices for various other agricultural products. He is referring, among other things, to the canning industry and the Belgian sugar refiners.
- See market prices for consumer potatoes
Analysts at the DCA-markt market in Lelystad believe that the 40 percent increase in prices that Belgian processors are now implementing can be safely called historic. Last season, contract prices also rose by about 15-20 percent.
