According to the latest IFA report, there are some indications of rising potato consumption in domestic markets across Europe, while prices remain stable.
Since the weather has been so mild in the UK, ambient stores are challenging to maintain, and “wets” in bags are a concern for some growers, particularly in areas where crops were lifted late. Growers are also marketing crops sooner than planned as a result of sprouting. Despite the weak demand this week, some producers with the highest-grade samples are attempting to drive up prices.
Since the onset of colder weather in Ireland, retail demand and household consumption have increased. Harvesting has been especially difficult for producers over the past few weeks due to extremely unfavorable weather, which resulted in higher-than-average waste. Due to the high levels of soil contamination, drying and grading are also exceedingly slow.
“Between 15-20% of the crop remains to be harvested, with areas of Cork and the northeast worst affected. At this point in the season, the risk of frost damage is a big concern. Storage costs are a multiple of last year’s costs and growers must immediately receive an increase at farm gate level to compensate for this,” the document reveals.
A source: https://www.potatobusiness.com
