Spain: Good yield expectations for potato campaign

Potato harvesting will start next March in Castilla-La Manca, despite communities like Andalucia already started it. Even if no one knows what will happen, perspectives are positive regarding amounts, according to predictions made at UPA in Castilla-La Mancha, said a sector representative.

If predictions happen to be correct and farmers will harvest high yields of potato again after several years of good prices, then value will drop again.

Add to this the higher prices of fuel now and the results may not be that good.

In the sector a little more than 3,900 Euro needs to be spent per hectare and to cover costs they need to be paid at 0.07Euro per kilo. So if prices don't improve, farmers stand to lose money.

Competition
As for what's going on in the sector, potato keeps having the problems of previous years, especially regarding competition from outside, with which it is hard to compete due to prices.

On the other side, despite the existing crisis, many farmers keep insuring their harvest as this cultivation, more than others, has a risk depending on weather conditions.

A year ago a raise in insurances was noticed, the number is still similar though slightly reduced. The frost problems from the last few days and the small amount of rain might be a problem for the harvest start if the weather remains the same.

Source: Eldiadigital