Kees den Boer of Aardappelhandel Verkerk from 's-Gravendeel is happy that the new potato season has started. "Last year nothing was made and there was no fun in it. We couldn't make any margins and it was difficult to trade. The current market looks a lot better as far as price formation is concerned. The yields per hectare are a lot lower and the potatoes aren't as coarse. Other countries in Europe also had bad growing conditions, so there may be some extra demand from European countries."
The potato export has already started, but according to Kees the trade is still calm. "The price is still on the high side for some export destinations. There isn't a lot of demand, but there aren't ridiculous amounts of trade available either, so the market is well balanced. The price varies, depending on size and destination, between 25 and 30 Euro. Both exporters and customer are still a bit hesitant, as there is a lot of money on its way at the same time. At the moment there is some demand from the Caribbean area and there are other destinations enquiring left and right."
Aardappelhandel Verkerk doesn't export themselves consciously, but supplies potatoes to exporters and wholesalers. "Exporting is an art, you have to let people who know how to handle it. You can see in the onion sector that a lot of packaging stations have started to export themselves. In the potatoes these activities have remained more humble. Personally, I think that's better. You should do what you're good at."
"The early potatoes for the industry are almost finished and the late varieties haven't had their turn yet. Over the next few weeks the prices probably won't go down much, for the industry either," expects Kees. Aardappelhandel Verkerk has had little bother with secondary growth in the potatoes. "We are mainly buying potatoes in Tholen for the domestic market and it's good stuff. I get the impression that the growers had more secondary growth a few weeks ago than they do at the moment."
"The early potatoes for the industry are almost finished and the late varieties haven't had their turn yet. Over the next few weeks the prices probably won't go down much, for the industry either," expects Kees. Aardappelhandel Verkerk has had little bother with secondary growth in the potatoes. "We are mainly buying potatoes in Tholen for the domestic market and it's good stuff. I get the impression that the growers had more secondary growth a few weeks ago than they do at the moment."
For more information:
Aardappelhandel Verkerk bv
Kees den Boer
Mijlweg 67
3295 KG 'S-Gravendeel
Tel: 0031 (0) 78 673 19 00
Fax: 0031 (0) 78 673 55 30
kees@aardappelhandel.nl
www.aardappelhandel.nl