The potato harvest has come to a close in Alava, where the production has fallen by almost 30% compared to the previous year due to lower yields, as the acreage has remained similar to that of the previous season.
The harvest, especially the one from seed potatoes, has been affected mainly by the high temperatures and lack of rainfall in recent months. "However, despite the drop in the production, the quality of the tubers is higher than the average of previous years, and there are also more suitable sizes for sale, so the share of marketable potatoes is 10 to 15% higher this season than that of a year with the usual conditions," said Alfonso Saenz de Camara, manager of Udapa.
"In general, the European market has less potatoes available, and prices reflect that, since they are quite high," said the manager of this cooperative from Alava. "This is due both to the increase in the production and handling costs and to the lower supply available, because if the production had been greater, we would not have reached these price levels. The potatoes will be kept in storage until March, but we don't know how prices will evolve until then."
According to Alfonso Sáenz de Cámara, what we are already seeing in the current inflationary economic situation is a drop of between 13 and 15% in consumption in the European retail. "It seems clear that potato consumption is falling, at least in large supermarkets, where we can better measure these trends. This indicates that consumption is declining mainly in households, as consumers are eating out more and the hospitality has recovered quite a bit after the worst years of the pandemic. The processing industry also increasingly needs more and more production," he said.
Despite the decline in production volumes this year, Udapa expects to handle between 78,000 and 80,000 tons of potatoes, so there is still growth compared to last season, both in fresh and industrial marketing.
For more information:
Alfonso Sáenz de Cámara
Udapa S.Coop.
C/ Paduleta nº1, Pol. Ind. de Júndiz
01015 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava. Spain
T: +34 945 290 395
alfonso@udapa.com
udapa.com