In the United States, the current sweet potato season is slowly winding down. "We've stopped exporting from some fields. That's due to quality requirements. We're only focusing on local sales with that crop. We have enough fields left for exports, though. So we should have year-round US sweet potatoes again. That's until the new crop's harvested," says Spot's Nick Bakelaar.
"It was very dry for a few weeks. But, fortunately, it rained enough in the past two weeks. That benefitted the crop. We're not expecting last year's dry weather for now. But then again, last year, it didn't hit until mid-August. Also, our Argentinian growers are having a pretty good season. That season is well underway. We changed much about storage, curing, and grubbing there. Those sweet potatoes are of better quality once they've been exported overseas. So, we think we can definitely continue with them until the end of August."
"Egypt also usually comes onto the market in mid-August. A few growers will begin shipping their first containers next week already. So, the first fresh Egyptian sweet potatoes should certainly be available on the market in early August. Egypt has planned to have noticeably fewer of these vegetables this season. That's because, last year, there were simply too many. Their quality, therefore, deteriorated, and much was lost," says Nick.
"The same is true for Spain. These sweet potatoes should come onto the market in late August. We're already selling locally from our Spanish farm. We've invested quite a bit in new curing cells in Spain. These will improve the products' quality. That will ultimately mean a longer life for our Spanish sweet potatoes."
"Last year, quite a lot of the crop was lost. Again, because there was just too much cultivated. So, there will certainly be less Spanish product available now. However, with the new curing cells, we should be able to supply good sweet potatoes until March," Nick concludes.
For more information:
Nick Bakelaar
Spot
128 ABC Westland
2685 DB, Poeldijk, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 174 470 105
Email: nick@spot.farm
Website: www.spot.farm