The potato harvest started on Monday in the town of Sa Pobla, Spain, which marks the beginning of the export season of the extra early potato variety known as Novella. Wholesalers expect "a good campaign" which will, at the very least, equal last year's results, when 24,000 tonnes were harvested. Despite the good prospects, wholesalers call for caution due to the weather instability.
The first potatoes, owned by Mateu Export, are of the Lady Cristal variety and the harvest will probably continue until June. Mateu Export's manager, Joan Mateu, explains that "the quality of potatoes this year is optimal and no diseases have appeared because the weather has been lenient and has allowed the tubers to grow normally." Growers say that for potatoes to develop their maximum quality there must be no frosts or strong winds. They require sunny mornings and cool nights.
These prospects give hope to the sector, which suffered a rather difficult campaign last year due to the loss of 33% of the extra early potatoes because of damage caused by extreme cold temperatures. It was a serious blow, as Novella potatoes account for 23% of the volumes that Spain ships abroad.
"After two difficult years, it seems we have a good start for the campaign and we, at Mateu Export, expect to equal the 12,500 tonnes of potatoes we harvested last year, almost 55% of all of the town's exports in 2012," said Joan Mateu.
S'Esplet stated that despite the fact that their campaign will not begin until the first week of March, the appearance and quality of their potatoes seem good so far. "We are delayed this year because of the heavy rainfall in early November, which caused some floods and delayed the planting, but our prospects are still good," affirms Pep Llabrés, manager of S'Esplet. Llabrés believes that international demand for Novella potatoes could increase and prices will be good.
The main market for extra early potatoes is the UK, although they are slowly finding their place in other European markets, such as Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
Source: Diariodemallorca
