The extreme drought is causing much uncertainty on the potato market. “In our area we are in the fortunate position that we can irrigate, and we were able to harvest 80 per cent here. But in many areas, including the southwest, Belgium and Wallonia, they cannot irrigate, and those cultivators have a problem,” says Adrie Kleinjan of Kleinjan’s Aardappelhandel, in Goudswaard, the Netherlands. “These dry conditions are very exceptional. Even older people have never experienced anything like this. Damp was often more troublesome during grubbing than the extremes are now.”
“Some cultivators start grubbing anyway, because of the date, and some wait. That uncertainty can also be felt on the market: will these potatoes come out of the ground? And if yes, when, and what quality will they be? Or will the harvest not come out of the ground because of the rain we might get? No one knows, but we are talking about a significant area of potatoes that is still in the ground, and that is decisive for price-fixing throughout the market. The uncertainty rules the market. As a result, there are no quotations yet, and the forward market is high,” Kleinjan continues.
“This situation is also bothering the chips industry, because they are in an uncertain position, because they do not even know how or when the potatoes will come out of the ground. But there is also much uncertainty on the domestic market and for export. The potatoes are now still sold for relatively high prices, and the question is whether those prices will become even higher. Due to the high prices, volumes are much lower, and export is currently mediocre in my opinion. This time last year, we still exported many potatoes to eastern Europe, but they have good harvests themselves now, and have become competitors instead of customers.”
Kees Schouten of potato wholesaler, Altena, from Wijk en Aalburg, also calls the situation difficult. “Cultivators have to just irrigate now, and put 30 to 40 millimetres of water on the ground in order to grub up the potatoes, but not everyone has the systems or opportunity. Generally, we can irrigate in our area, but south of the large rivers it becomes almost impossible to properly grub up the potatoes, due to the drought.”