News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Europe

Last week, potato collective Agrico held its central general members’ meeting. At this well attended meeting, the annual report 2017/2018 was presented and new board members were appointed.

Shoppers in the United Kingdom bought 1.4 per cent more fresh potatoes this year compared to last year and 3 per cent more than in 2015, new data shows.

That the potato harvest this year in Europe was well below average due to extreme weather conditions is well known by now. I this article we present some recent data from Great Britain, The Netherlands and Spain that further clarify the situation

La campaña de papa de este año ya está prácticamente concluida y cerrará con un 15-20% menos de producción que en 2017, según el presidente del Comité de Patata de la FEPEX,

During the annual potato variety show at Agrico the topic of discussion was not limited to unique varieties on display. The impact of the excessive heat and drought this season on the seed potato market was also a hot topic.

El país suramericano quiere aplicar impuestos contra las papas fritas de Bélgica, Países Bajos y Alemania.

The total potato harvest in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France in 2018 will be at least 20 percent lower than last year, according to the latest estimates of the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG).

The revised estimate for the total 2018 potato planted area in Great Britain is 117.3Kha, down 4.4% from 2017. Also includes shifts in the Top ten potato varieties grown in Great Britain in 2018

In this interview, Marc Van Herreweghe, the new Chairman of Belgapom and CEO of Mydibel, discusses the challenges this Belgian Potato Association faces going forward, as well as sustainability issues and problems related to recent weather conditions.

Test trials by VTA in the Netherlands reveal an average yield of 47.088 kg per hectare, compared to 58,507 kg/ha in 2017. This means that the yield per hectare is 19.5% lower than the previous season and 12.5% lower than the 5-year average.

Rezatec - a UK based company focused on the analysis and interpretation of satellite data - has in collaboration with AHDB Potatoes investigated the effectiveness of using satellite data to map the extent of potato crops in pilot locations across the UK.

Potato production in the Moscow Oblast in 2018 increased by 37% compared to the volumes of the previous year.

Dutch potato starch manufacterer Avebe has announced that the advance payment for potatoes delivered is being increased to 67 euros a tonne and that the full result of the cooperative will go to the members.

The Emsland Group, a potato processor with seven production plants throughout Germany, explains the supply challenges they are faced with as a result of the extreme drought in Germany and other parts of Europe.

The warm and dry weather of recent months has caused a commotion in the potato sector in Northern Europe. This is why representatives of both the Dutch and Belgian potato sectors came together to discuss the situation and to voice their concerns.

The extreme heat and drought is a disaster for the upcoming potato harvest. And for processors too: in Belgium, potato chips manufacturer Roger&Roger (Croky) temporarily halts production of some its flavours to manage the lack of potato supply.

The Potato Processing companies in the United Kingdom have released a statement through the Potato Processors’ Association Ltd (PPA), expressing their concern for the impact of current weather conditions on UK potato processing sector.

The German Association of Fruit, Vegetables and Potato Processing Industry (BOGK) expects that the potato harvest in Germany and Europe will be significantly reduced in quantity, as well as quality compared to the previous year due to the long ongoing drought and heat wave.