KMC expects 'below normal' potato starch availability to continue after harvest 2011

Mid May Danish Potato Starch Manufacturer KMC (KartoffelMelCentralen) offered their view on the potato starch supply based on the upcoming potato harvest.

Here is KMC's outlook for the 2011/2012 harvest year:

The harvest year 2010/2011 has proven to be extremely difficult in terms of availability. The poor harvest of starch potatoes as well as of most competing raw materials for starch production around the World dramatically reduced the global supply of starch products. Consequently, there will be no carry-over-stock of potato starch in the industry going into 2011/2012.

It is still very early days when it comes to predicting the harvest for 2011/2012.

Nevertheless, the status is that starch potatoes for the coming crop have now been in the ground for 3-6 weeks.

During that period the potato growing has suffered due to severe drought taking place in most of North and Western Europe. Within the last week, however, we have seen some precipitation, but the already experienced drought period most likely has had a negative impact on the coming potato harvest.

"We will first know the availability when we get to August-September,"Bjarne Larsen, Sales and Marketing director at KMC states, "but at this time it seems most likely that availability of potato starch for 2011/2012 will be somewhere between 'below-normal' and 'far-below-normal'."