Increased Volume and Early Harvest Mark the 2024/25 Season
Polish potato exporters are anticipating a more abundant harvest this season compared to last year, according to Łukasz Ostrowicz, a board member at Polish potato packer Bugaj. “This season, the volume of Polish potatoes appears to be slightly higher than last year. The season started earlier thanks to earlier planting, and the overall volume of new potatoes seems good. One noticeable difference this year is that the tubers are bigger, and there is a shortage of the under 40mm fraction. We also observe that many novice farms appeared in the 2024/25 season, planting potatoes without having any contracts,” Ostrowicz explained.
This season is marked by the earliest start in history. Driven by the high prices from the last season, growers took the risk of early planting, with planting commencing very early this year. As a result, potatoes from under double covers were ready as early as the end of May, marking one of the earliest starts in history. Despite some night frost in April, the fields were not significantly harmed. The biggest challenges have been the violent rainfalls that began in June, combined with an increase in fungal pathogens attacking the plantations, which complicated plant protection.
The new potatoes are already being exported while stocks from the previous season remain. “The quality of seed potatoes has been one of the major challenges this season,” Ostrowicz noted. “Due to issues from the previous season, the quality of seeds was lower, resulting in hampered growth in some fields. Another potential challenge is the short-term overproduction of new potatoes. Many growers prefer to sell a fair share of the production on a free-buy basis as new potatoes, rather than storing them for later sale during the season. However, I am hopeful that some of the remaining surplus can be exported, as we’ve already started exporting Polish new potatoes last week. The demand has been growing, thanks to the attractive price levels in Poland compared to elsewhere in Europe.”
The weather remains a significant variable for the remainder of the season, especially given the influence of climate change. Ostrowicz emphasized the need to wait until the end of September for a more accurate assessment of the season’s outcomes. “There is also high pressure from pathogens on medium-early varieties dedicated for storage. It is difficult to assess what the quality of these potatoes will be at this point or how much produce will be suitable for long-term storage. Overall, we expect a larger production than in the previous season. However, we should not exclude a shortage of good quality potatoes in the spring due to the challenges I mentioned earlier, and the fact that there were no carry-over potatoes from the previous season,” Ostrowicz concluded.
