The potato market is going through a difficult period. "I've never experienced it being this extreme," says Nico van der Windt of Van der Windt Agri. "You can tell that many growers have given up their lots. A somewhat more stable market may follow once the abandonment period is over. Many farmers will lock their doors and wait it out, because afland has spilled a lot. Let's hope that was enough to turn things around."
© Van der WindtNico van der Windt
© Van der Windt
Van der Windt, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, trades large volumes annually, much of which consists of residual streams. "For now, there's little movement in the price. In my view, the biggest issue is the downtime scheduled by factories and the production lines they've set up. As a result, demand is stagnating, and it's precisely the processing industry that should be giving the signal that things are picking up again, but there's no sign of that yet," Nico says.
"Of course, there are too many potatoes, but the biggest problem now lies in geopolitical tensions and the fact that fries sales in Europe are lagging behind. That doesn't make things any easier," the potato trader observes. Asked whether this year will have consequences for the coming season, he replies, "Perhaps some fortune seekers will now drop out of potato cultivation; time will tell. This season requires us to creatively support our suppliers; we have to get through this difficult period together."
Lonely optimist
Michel van Oijen of AFP Eriva, however, remains positive. "They sometimes call me the lonely optimist," laughs the Dronten-based potato trader. "Of course, we have a lot of potatoes in the EU, and fries sales and processing are not running as they should, but we also know that the factories aren't buying cheap potatoes at all. Everyone says fries are so cheap, but that's not true, because everyone is loading into expensive contracts."
"I therefore stick to the saying I once learned from my mentors: 'Cheap potatoes run out in one go; expensive ones are always there.' There's spillage and slurry now, and where it will come from next, I don't know. But there will come a day when we'll look at each other and say: Where did all those potatoes go? If there's a night frost in a fortnight, in three weeks you'll be hearing a very different story."
For more information:
Nico van der Windt
Van der Windt Agri
Burgemeester van Doornlaan 12
2678 KB De Lier
Tel: +31(0)174512435
[email protected]
www.vand erwindtagri.nl 
© Izak Heijboer | FreshPlaza.comMichel van Oijen
AFP-Eriva
De Regge 43
8253 PG Dronten
Tel: +31 (0) 321-338800
[email protected]
www.apf-eriva.nl/
