The early potato harvest has already finished in Andalusia and Cartagena and now the handling warehouses are receiving small volumes of potatoes from Badajoz and Antequera while waiting for the arrival, in about ten days, of large quantities of produce from northern Spain, where the harvest has already started in Salamanca and Valladolid, in view of the high quality potatoes expected this season.
For now, the balance of the Spanish potato campaign is not positive in terms of prices, although there are better prospects for northern Spain. Early potatoes entered a market with falling prices that have failed to rebound so far, reaching averages of between 0.12 and 0.20 Euro per kilo on the domestic market and between 0.14 and 0.30 Euro per kilo in export destinations.
"This year, when it comes to profitability, the early potato crops will not manage to break even, except those of growers who chose to sign contracts with the industry," explains Javier Boceta, of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Andalusian Early Potatoes.
Among the main reasons for the price drops, Javier Boceta points to the larger contingent of French long life potatoes available this campaign in the Spanish market, rather than to an increase in domestic production. "The increase in Spain's acreage is minimal compared to the import volumes of French potatoes. Even if we had planted fewer potatoes, we would have had a pricing problem," he states.
With regard to the European export markets, an increase has been observed in the import of Israeli potato at lower prices, especially in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The potatoes from Salamanca and Valladolid will now play with the advantage of not having to compete with French potatoes in the domestic market. It will not be until the second half of November when French potatoes will start entering in large volumes. Spain will consequently depend entirely on its own performance until mid-November.
"Without excessive storage volumes of early potatoes from Andalusia and Cartagena and a slight increase in the acreage in northern Spain, prices are expected to rebound and bring profitability to growers," concludes Javier Boceta.