"These potato prices will make it harder to get top export sales"

The trade in potatoes is not a complete disappointment. This is according to Kees Schouten of the Dutch potato wholesale company, Altena. "During the holidays, it did become quieter. Now, however, we are getting a little more export demand, especially from West Africa. All in all, we have a fair amount of work."

"We will not achieve a top turnover for exports this year. More than EUR0,30 is already being paid for export potatoes. Add import taxes and logistics costs to that, and you will have to pay almost EUR0,50 in Africa. Not everyone can afford that", concludes Kees. "All in all, it will not be easy to realize top revenues in exports this year."

"When grubbing takes place, there are always potatoes available. The supply is, however, much lower than other years. Considerably lower volumes are being harvested everywhere. The yields of non-irrigated plots are particularly poor. Here, there are half the volumes, and less, being cleared. In general, we can, however, say that growers who started irrigating early, came out on top. They generally have reasonable volumes, but there will be very few top yields."

"We cannot complain about quality. The later batches, of which most had sprouted, had to go to market. The early and semi-early varieties, however, look good. The question now is what will grow with the later varieties", says the potato trader.

Are all the factors in place for an expensive year? "It is always speculative", is Kees' reaction. "There is a half volume of potatoes in the Netherlands and significantly lower yields elsewhere in Europe. This means potatoes will certainly not get cheaper. Whether the price level will be between about EUR0,25 and EUR0,40, no-one knows."