Especially in the Northern parts of Germany, the largest production area of organic potatoes nationwide, there were rainfalls of more than 100 liters per square meter, causing severe damage. At the same time, the potato beetle which is attacking weakened plants, is gaining ground.
The very few organic remedies, such as the oil of the neem tree, are almost sold out. If the potato beetle is able to reproduce, it can devour several hectares within a short time period which will then not grow any further. As of now, the later varieties are still very small and need to grow for at least another three weeks before reaching marketable yields.
Photo: BKE-Verein
"We are currently experiencing a combination of different factors that threaten a positive development for organic potatoes. After the late frosts, it was very hot and too dry in many regions. This was followed by heavy rainfalls and now we are dealing with beetles," as Monika Tietke, of the Organic Potato Association explains the current situation.
Due to this development, the situation on the German potato market is changing fundamentally. Only one week ago there was a short-term over supply on the market, which caused some irritation. For the coming week, there's only manageable import volumes available, usually bound by contract. In production areas for early potatoes, such as Palatinate, the main harvest has started. So far the yields are average but the production area only makes up about 5% of the overall production of organic potatoes in Germany. The expected volumes are already earmarked and large parts have been sold already. This lowers the pressure on the market. For the upcoming main harvest in other regions, larger producers' associations have noted considerably higher prices since the demand for German organic potatoes is still high.