Tholen – “After a long journey, the market for industrial potatoes is recovering with small steps
I get the impression that the supply and demand are somewhat in balance and that all potatoes will be placed by the end of the season ”, says Bart Nemegheer of De Aardappelhoeve. “However, it is still a crisis for many growers and because the opening of the catering industry is still delayed, the light at the end of the tunnel has not yet been reached. In addition to the low price for free potatoes, which is around 75 euros per ton, storage costs are also high, which means that many free potatoes are still in dire straits. ”
According to Bart, the situation for next season depends a lot on the weather. “Are we going to have an extremely dry summer again? Or a normal summer this year? You cannot predict the weather, we have to wait and see. The corona crisis will also play a role next season. I secretly expect that we can go back to the old ‘normal’ in the autumn. Vaccinations are busy in many countries and although this does not always go smoothly, important steps are still being taken. We will eventually get there. ”
“The potatoes for the fresh market sold well last season. People could not go to a restaurant, so they started working in the kitchen at home and the potatoes came into the picture. This has had a very positive effect on everything related to potato products ”, says Bart. “We have had a really good period for table potatoes. If we regain our freedom and can eat out again, it will have a negative effect on the consumption of table potatoes. ”
Since the beginning of this year, there has been a ban on the use of CIPC in the storage of potatoes. For many parties in the sector, a big disappointment. De Aardappelhoeve responded to this many years ago by switching to an alternative means. “We have not been using CIPC for the fresh market potatoes for years.
The residue standard is extra strict in the fresh market and we had already foreseen that the ban was coming our way. We currently experience few problems, because we have been working with an alternative means for some time. There are good alternatives on the market, but the price difference with CIPC is large. Many growers were shocked by this and unfortunately these amounts were not always included in the contract agreements, ”Bart concludes.
For more information:
Bart Nemegheer
De Aardappelhoeve
www.deaardappelhoeve.be
