Potato prices down as supply exceed demand

Potato prices in the United Kingdom have dropped again, with available supplies exceeding demand due to the early harvest.

The Potato Council's weekly average price fell by 12% in the week to 19 August, to £120.65/t - £50/t below the same time last year. However, free-buy markets have dropped even more sharply in recent weeks, and are now more than £80/t lower than last year, at £90.44/t.

"Where farmers had water to irrigate, potato crops responded very positively to the sunshine in May, so there is likely to be a big crop this year,"said Nick Tapp, head of agribusiness at Bidwells. Last year, prices were the highest for 10 years, with drought in Russia boosting export demand. "This year, Europe and Russia seem to be having a reasonable harvest, so that demand won't be there to underpin the market. It could be a pretty hard season for those growers selling on the free-buy market."