“There’s currently plenty of Bintje supply on the market. Yet there are still some batches with floaters that are being pulled up first by industry. The Fontane and Challengers are being pushed towards January, so that glassy Bintje with storability problems aren’t lost,” says Rik Tanghe of RTL Patat. “At first, industry didn’t want Bintje, but it’s become more interesting to continue with these potatoes because prices dropped to between 15 and 25.”
The coming colder weather that’s been forecast for next week will put pressure on the supply, according to the trader. “Some batches will have to be sold before the frost. These numbers aren’t enormous, but it still results in some pressure,” Rik says. “We still have about 25 hectares that has to be grubbed up, and everything should be finished before the weekend. Normally, everything is grubbed up before 1 November, but we’re a bit later this year. We are fortunate to still have such good grubbing up conditions at such a late stage.”
Supply
“Export demand is calm at the moment. Prices are at a different level than last year as well. We also have the feeling that supply’s coming from certain French regions, which had a higher yield,” Rik continues. “I don’t expect there will be shortages this season, but I also don’t think there will be an oversupply. The months of June and July will be a bit exciting, and we’ll have to wait and see what the transition between the old and the new harvest will be like. However, I expect industry can keep going until late May.”
Seed potatoes
“The availability of seed potatoes is still a big question mark for next season. It’s clear that volume will be lower and prices higher. The question is now how to balance all this. Prices for Bintje seed potatoes are much higher than last year. Considering we now also have a lot of quality problems in consumption, it could be possible there won’t be much interest to plant Bintje next year,” Rik concludes.
For more information:
Rik Tanghe
RTL Patat
Rekkemstraat 123
8930 Menen, Belgium
+32 56 41 19 89
rik@rtlpatat.be
www.rtlpatat.be