The local potato supply starts in May and goes on until October with the oblong and round varieties. A few years ago, a round red-flesh variety was also introduced. Almost all potatoes sold at the Lusia market are packed in 16/17 kg 30x40 plastic or wooden crates.
After acceptable prices at the start of the campaign (22-37 cents/kg), they dropped constantly and finally reached 15-19 cents/kg in September, far below production costs.
Quality was not the best because of the bad weather. Only the red variety was of excellent quality.
The weak 2014 trend with high production costs and non-profitable sales costs will probably result in growers thinking twice before investing in this crop next year.