Belgium: Growers don't want to grow potatoes next season

According to Jurgen Duthoo of Bart's Potato Company there was a short revival in the potato market before Easter. "There was slightly more interest for the new harvest during this period", he says. "It remained calm for the old harvest and it will most likely remain that way. There is a lot of supply, not just from Belgium but also from other European countries who have too many potatoes. Combined with little demand this causes low prices. Last year, in this period, around 250 Euro was paid per tonne from the grower. At the moment 26 Euro per tonne is paid. This is a tenth of the last year's price."

"Demand won't overshadow supply"

"We're already in the month April", he continues. "And the supply is so big that we won't be able to get it all on the market. The demand probably won't overshadow the supply any more. If there is some movement in the direction of the export, it will have little to no influence on the prices." He indicates that the old harvest will be on the market for a long time. "Good parties will be kept until at least July. This season is completely different from last season. We've gone from one extreme to the other. Last year the prices had never been as high and this was combined with a very high demand from different corners. This season, on the other hand, the prices are historically low and it's hard to export anything."

"What the market situation will look like in the coming months, depends on the supply and prices of the new harvest from Southern Europe and other countries. There are new harvest potatoes from Egypt, Cyprus, and Malta on the market at the moment. Soon Spain and other Southern European countries will start too."

Potatoes leftover

What will happen to the many potatoes that are leftover? Jurgen doesn't know. "Some is going to the industry, but this is a situation that's never been seen before and we don't know what will happen. This is serious for the whole sector." The potato trader indicates that most growers respond to the bad situation. "Many of them don't want to grow potatoes any more next season. Whether this will really happen, we won't know for sure until next season."

For more information:
Jurgen Duthoo
Bart’s Potato Company bvba
Westvleterenstraat 25a
8640, Vleteren, België
Tel: +32 57 40 91 20
Fax: +32 57 40 91 21
www.lamaire.be