The potato price seems to be completely stuck this year. "If we offer it for 6 cents, the Belgians offer their potatoes for 5 cents. Whether you like it or not, you have to go along with it, or you're out. It's no fun for the growers, but it's just the way it is this year. We have 4 million tonnes more potatoes in storage than in other years. The season could be at an end before these are off the market. In March/April, the first new imported potatoes will enter the market already," says Henk van den Berg, sales manager at LP Kranenburg in Nieuw-Vennep.
"A lot is being exported, but we're not seeing extreme business. Africa is getting going again, and potatoes are going to Kuwait, but we're not struggling to keep up when it comes to sorting," Henk says. "The buyers are also very picky. The supply is big enough, but the best of the best still doesn't look good enough. And quite a few shipments came in warm, so they aren't all suitable for storage," Henk says. "I think we'll have to get to the end of the season with low prices, hoping that fewer potatoes will be planted next year. The difficulty for the growers is that there are so few alternatives, the situation in grain and sugar beets is also not looking great, so there are few alternatives for other products. But we're not looking forward to another season like this."
For more information:
Henk van den Berg
LP Kranenburg
Rijnlanderweg 1637
2153 KH Nieuw-Vennep
Tel: +31 252 620060
info@lpkranenburg.nl
www.lpkranenburg.nl