Last year, Martin Oudenes of My Roots & More ended the Egyptian sweet potato season in early April, but he is still offering produce from Egypt. "Although the quality is declining slightly, the high prices make it possible to deliver good produce. We've also had times when prices were less than half of what they are now, and in those cases, you simply can't afford any extra costs. But with current prices, the added expenses for sorting and repackaging are well worth it. After all, at these sales prices, you want your customers to be satisfied with what they're getting at the end of the season."
"I expect to continue for another four weeks and to start the new harvest in Egypt at the end of June. Whether we can continue year-round is still uncertain, but we are moving more and more towards having Egyptian produce available all year," says Martin, who mainly supplies re-exporters and wholesalers. "We can now say that sweet potatoes are no longer a niche product—they've become a well-established product group in the market."
"Last autumn, the price of Egyptian sweet potatoes was still under pressure from high supply, but since January, the market has picked up significantly, and prices are currently very strong by Egyptian standards. This price level is also necessary for American sweet potatoes. The dollar exchange rate is now slightly more favourable, but there is about 35% less volume in the 2024/2025 harvest in the U.S. My regular shipper, Millstream, has a high-quality product and says they can continue until mid to late July and then start again in October," Martin explains.
"It will be interesting to see how much impact the American trade tariffs will have, but that remains to be seen. From 14 July, import duties are supposed to rise to 25%, but when that takes effect, a countermeasure is expected for the import of American products into Europe, which includes sweet potatoes. By then, the season will be nearly over, and if a few containers are still affected by the levy, that can be managed. Of course, it all still has to happen. You can't control it, but you do have to factor it into the overall picture, even though it probably won't be as bad as it sounds," the importer adds.
Although local sweet potato cultivation projects have started in many countries in recent years, according to Martin, Covington from North America and Beauregard from Egypt still make up the largest share. "In Honduras, a large company has pulled out, and the smaller players that have taken their place aren't producing the same volume as before. Cultivation in Guatemala is still fairly small-scale. In the Netherlands, it has become increasingly difficult for growers since the industry boycotted Dutch sweet potatoes two years ago due to excessive moisture content, which led to less net product remaining after baking. But Dutch growers cannot do without the processing industry."
My Roots & More also focuses on importing Egyptian onions. "Once every five or six years, it makes sense to import yellow onions from Egypt, and this is one of those years. We'll continue with Egyptian yellow onions for another month until the Dutch onion planting season begins, and we will certainly continue with Egyptian red onions until mid-August," says Martin.
"Imported carrots from Egypt were in high demand last year, but this year demand is quite moderate because there is still enough Dutch supply available. However, there is now slightly more demand for new-season carrots from Egypt, so hopefully the season will still end well. It just shows that no two years are the same—but it's still a great feeling to start every day with 100% energy in the best job in the world."
For more information:
Martin Oudenes
My Roots & More
Benedenheulseweg 3
2821 LR Stolwijk
Tel: +31 182717180
Mobile: +31 622442981
[email protected]
www.myrootsandmore.nl