European potato market overview for week 3:

Quiet markets with, generally, little activity in free transactions. However, several industrial buyers have returned to the market, while some demand for exports is also present. The peelers show a certain interest for high quality batches of Bintje (size and roast colour).

Bintje plant: Little suppy and little demand. Dutch plant, Class A, made in March 2018, per 5 tons, in bags, excl. VAT:

Netherlands : 

Few free purchases by Dutch industrialists, the surtonnes contract still seem almost superfluous in their supply. They are paid between €2.75 and €4.75/amount, or up to €7.00/amount in Agria for fresh fries. Exporters are counting on an export rebound to Africa (West African destinations) which is long overdue. Limited volumes are regularly made to the Caribbean and the Middle East. Trade to Southern and Eastern Europe is still too weak to boost markets. Producer prices are between €4.00 and €6.50/amount based on big bags. 

Quotation PotatoNL : also available on www.potatonl.com

France : 

For the industry, demand, alongside contracted volumes, remains almost nonexistent, but delays in contract removal seem to be abating, and some buyers would return to the market in the coming weeks / months. The internal fresh market is at half-mast, with very low prices in stores. The export is struggling to restart, especially due to lack of trucks. The selling prices remain between €7.00 and €14.00/a for producer comprised big bags depending on variety, quality, caliber and destination. Romania is showing interest, as well as Italy in particular, where contacts are resuming. Spain remains the main buyer.

On the fresh market, producer prices are down. On January 9, they were at € 10.00/a (-10.4%) for firm pulp and at 10.00 € / q (-4.7%) for mainly firm pulp/mealy ( = soft pulp).

As for the "Kartoffelberg" (mountain of potatoes), it is in decline, and faster than previously thought; the "bulk" storage is depleted, or in the process of being depleted, and the trading has transitioned to storage crates fridges. Refusals and defects have been, and remain, important. As in a year of affluence, people waste more and faster. Some states, like the Rhineland Palatinate and BadenWürttemberg, with Bavaria soon to follow, lack potatoes, and supply themselves with them from Rhineland Westphalia. In LowerSaxony, where the "Kartoffelberg" was very high, stocks are falling faster than initially expected.

As for potatoes meant for industry (fries), the market remains a steady, unchanged course in Rhineland (and elsewhere in the FRG) for Challenger, Innovator and Fontane, with producer prices between €3.00 and €4.00/a. The pressure on prices is present, time and again, with decay requiring evacuation and washing before factory delivery.

Although it doesn’t appear in the quotes, the demand but also the course for fries/potato chips is steady and climbing. With selling prices up to €9,00 and €10,00/a.

With organic potatoes, the prices for producers returned to retail for these varieties and are always around €48,00/a.

*you will have to deduct €1,00/a from these prices in their starting fields in the table above for sorting fees.

Great Britain : 

Average producer price (all markets) for week 01: €8.69/a. Prices are difficult to maintain steady in the fresh markets, due of lack of interest with the preparators. Export to the Canary Islands continues properly. Industries are almost not involved with the purchases. According to some observers, the current market complications could lead to a significant decrease in surface area in 2018 (the size of 10,000 ha).

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