Alberto Duque, COAG's national potato director, spoke about the change in trend observed in the potato market since Spain continues to receive potatoes from France (Europe's leading potato exporter) but has been exporting potatoes to France for two campaigns, as its potato snack chips manufacturing companies are interested in the quality of the Spanish product.
This was confirmed by Yolanda Medina, the president of the Castile and Leon Potato Inter-branch organization (Interprofesional de la Patata de Castilla y León), who stated that "the potato for frying grown in Spain is harder and absorbs less oil than the same variety grown in the Netherlands or France because of climatic conditions. That's why it's demanded by some European industries."
Despite the increase in costs, the prices achieved in the 2022 season, which stood between 38 and 40 cents per kilo, have been profitable for producers, Duque stated. “Production was lower and therefore there was less spending on labor. The product harvested had extraordinary quality and was accompanied by good demand,” he added.
According to the COAG, this year there will be a decrease in the number of hectares devoted to potatoes, due to the uncertainty about the availability of water for irrigation in some areas. It's worth noting that, according to the latest surfaces and production report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) -relating to last October-, in 2022 production has already fallen by 7.2% to a total of 1.93 million tons.
Source: efeagro.com