Fontane: €25,00 to €27,00/qt; strong market, with little supply relative to an active demand;Challenger: €25,00 to €27,00/qt; strong market.
Bintje: €25,00/qt, calm market. This price corresponds in reference to the friable quality. lower prices may be charged for those of lesser quality, mainly EPS, being loose, and size. Supply is increasing in response to lower demand (fewer industrial buyers). Practically, 340 or 345 g/5 kg in EPS are accepted, with or without price reduction. Lots with 20% being loose are regular, and refusals are reported beyond 20% of being loose.
Size 28 - 35 mm: €89,00 – €92,00/qt
In the field, will have advanced by 60% in all the production regions: they are almost complete in Champagne, well advanced in Beauce, over 50% in Picardy, and rather late in Nord/Pas-de-Calais where the haulm destructions have just ended.
Estimate of returns (sources: CNIPT – UNPT): In week 37 and 38, on 240 plots in the 4 main production areas, all varieties, irrigated and non-irrigated: average yield of 43.9t/ha, or 11% (or 5.6 t/ha) below the average of the last 5 years . Huge variability (between 18 and 80t/ha)
Industrial processing (source: GIPT via UNPT): French factories processed 193,000 tons of potatoes in July and August 2018, 15% (24,000 tons) more than in 2017, and 51,000 tons more than in 2016. The contracted part in this supply is estimated at 70%.
Large retailers, as per usual at the time, made "Sonderangeboten" (exceptional offers) in bags with larger quantities. The supply of producers remains limited, busy as they are with the harvest. The harvest is however sometimes stopped due to too dry conditions. In some Länder (Brandenburg for example) yields are catastrophically low, at 23.8t/ha, against 35.6t/ha last year. Household consumption in July - August was reduced due to heat: 8.6% less for the eighth month ,compared to August 2017. For the first 8 months of the year, consumption fell 4.3%. The 2 sectors with higher consumption have sales in the weekly markets and organic potatoes. 6.5% of all potato sales in August 2018 were in the organic sector, which is remarkably high. The main harvest is well underway in the Rhineland, although sometimes slowed down by the heat (10 days ago) or conditions being too dry again. There’s fear of a rising offer in lots of dubious quality (glassy, water bags, rotten) in the days/weeks ahead. For several weeks, many lots of fresh market varieties or "double-ends", go to the processing industry, especially French fries.
As of September 28, prices remained unchanged on the fresh market (Rhineland) for firm pulp varieties at €28,00/qt and at €26,00/qt for soft pulp varieties. For early firm pulp on-farm sales (Rhineland) prices vary between €11,00 and €12,00/qt per 25 kg bag (unchanged). In early potatoes for the industry (fries), prices remain unchanged, strong market. various early crops at €27,00/qt, Agria /Zorba at 28,00 €/q (+€1), Fontane at €27,00/qt, and Innovator/Ivory Russet at €29,00/qt.
*you will have to deduct €1,00/a from these prices in their starting fields in the table above for sorting fees
There’s still old harvest (2017!) left on the fresh market (packaging for large retailers), while the transition to 2018 productions is underway on the wholesale market. The demand is strong, buyers make the best use of contracted quantities to delay as much as possible, and get a better idea of the final quality of the harvest. Buyers of "bakers" (big size for the oven) find it difficult to find what they need, despite a lowering of the size standard to 60 mm. Very few free purchases for the industry, at prices between €24,80 and €31,60/qt, depending on variety. In the field, haulm destruction progresses rapidly. They had been delayed to allow for growth, with mixed results, since the September rains either improved yields, or allowed regrowth to develop (especially on non-irrigated plots).