“Large supply of import potatoes in retail mostly driven by Dutch packers”

The dry weather has much influence on the mood on the potato market. “The market is quite stuck. The forward market is stuck at around 30 cents, but it’s difficult to predict how the remainder of the season will look. No one knows how the main harvest will look in October,” says Kees Bijl of the potato sorting and trading company of the same name from Sint-Annaland, the Netherlands. “However, sizing everywhere is considerably smaller than we’re used to. These high prices could normally lead to less export, but it’s still difficult to say now. Everyone in the potato business is now living day to day.”

“The small sizes are not yet a problem for supermarkets,” Kees says. The fact that multiple retailers continue remarkably long with import potatoes is mostly driven by Dutch packers, according to him. “They try to put off stored potatoes as long as possible, by extending the season with imported product. However, I’ve also got supermarket customers that have been using Dutch product for three weeks now. If supermarkets were to suddenly ask only for new potatoes, I wouldn’t know what would happen to prices. Perhaps prices could then be increased even more.”