The new potato season is currently picking up speed. The remaining stocks of last year's domestic harvest are being depleted, while the supply of new-crop goods from the Mediterranean is increasing. Robert Darscheidt from Cologne, owner of the Hans Darscheidt company, finds his business in a transitional phase.
Large demand for new potatoes
Currently, the experienced potato trader offers, among other things, new goods from Cyprus, Morocco, Israel and Italy. "Cyprus has some scarcity and therefore the prices are at €1.20 / kg. Israeli potatoes are a tad cheaper and Morocco is the cheapest in terms of pricing. But the goods from Cyprus are in the top position in terms of sales. The kilo prices for the last German potatoes are at around €0.45."
During the week before Easter, there was a growing demand for new potatoes. "We noticed that marketers want to offer new potatoes at asparagus time," said Darscheidt. With regard to the domestic new potatoes, the wholesaler does not want to make a prognosis yet. "The vegetation has to recover and so far the groundwater levels have not been able to regenerate, so the coming weeks will determine how dry it gets."
Potatoes, a conservative market
Despite the multitudes of varieties within the potato industry today, the Annabelle variety is by far the most marketed. In the wholesale trade it is also particularly difficult to be creative with the base product 'potato', says Darscheidt. "With this challenging and expensive potato year, many consumers are turning to noodles and rice. In the end, people will look at the price, no matter how the product is packaged."
Doreoc potatoes as assortment supplement
Recently, the ready-to-cook assortment of the wholesaler has seen an interesting novelty, namely French Doreoc potatoes. Darscheidt: "We buy these directly from the Pom'Alliance, with which we have been working together for many years. These are potatoes from last year's harvest, and are offered as an extra for the asparagus season. These potatoes are marketed between September and May, primarily in medium sized grades, 35-40 and 35-45. In my current assessment, it is above all a niche product that we offer additionally."
Supplying kindergartens
The Darscheidt company has been dedicated to marketing potatoes since its founding in 1948. Over time, the business expanded gradually. "We are focusing more and more on supplying kindergartens, in recent years. This is a very good and demanding business for us, where we sell not just potatoes but also the complete range of fruits and vegetables. Nevertheless, we still do pure potato wholesaling here on the Cologne wholesale market."
For more information:
Hans Darscheidt GmbH
Landesprodukten-Großhandel 
Großmarkt - Außengelände
50968 Köln
T: 0221 - 34 80 30
F: 0221 - 34 21 84
info@darscheidt.de
www.darscheidt.de