News on The Potato Supply Chain from Belgium

The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) estimates the
forecasted potato harvest 2019 between 27 and 27,3 million tons for the
5 leading potato countries. This is 3% more than the 5 years average and
12% more than last year.

TOMRA Sorting Food has introduced the TOMRA 3A sensor-based sorting machine for freshly harvested root crops, offering potato growers unrivalled sorting capabilities, dependability, and affordability.

On 4 and 5 September the international potato fair PotatoEurope 2019 will take place in
Tournai. That the fair continues to grow is demonstrated by the fact that there are almost
20% more exhibitors from 17 different countries.

At the upcoming Potato Europe in Kain, Belgium, agricultural machinery manufacturer AVR is presenting its new quick-change digging unit. As of 2020, this option will be available on all 2-row trailed AVR harvesters.

Dewulf, full-liner in machines for the cultivation of potatoes and root crops, will place particular focus on haulm processing, sieving capacity and roller cleaning during Potato Europe ’19.

The last potatoes were planted at the end of April at PotatoEurope’s demo site and until the end of May the participation demands continued to come in. With less than three weeks to go, time for an update!

Sensor-based sorter manufacturer TOMRA offers their insights on the impact of sorting technology on food safety in the Potato Processing Industry

ILVO, HOGENT and TRIAS in Belgium are hosting a Peruvian delegation to the Food Pilot (ILVO, Melle, Belgium) to get the production of so-called “tuntas” (freeze dried potatoes) in a small cooperative factory in the Andes.

AVR developed new receiving hopper for medium-sized agricultural holdings

The potato cannot be burned from the news. This week it turned out that Belgian growers are settling in northern France because the Belgian area is almost exhausted.

Based upon a provisional estimation of the NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) the area in the 5 largest potato countries increased to 609.000 ha of consumption potatoes, a 2.4% increase.

Since the humble precursor to modern potato first domesticated in Peru 10,000 years ago, the tuber has branched off into thousands of different varieties.

The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) have estimated that the upcoming area for
consumption potatoes in 2019 will increase between 1 and 2 % towards almost 604.000 ha in the 5
main production countries.

Dewulf, full-liner in agricultural machines for potatoes and carrots, receives a capital injection by family shareholders Hendrik Decramer and Thomas Decan, in collaboration with investor Jan Clarebout.

The potato processing industry in Belgium registered record growth and processed over 5 million tonnes of potatoes in 2018. However, in 2019 the sector faces major challenges as a result of the poor harvest in 2018

Three Belgian organisations, Boerenbond, Belgapom and VITO are teaming up to strengthen the future of the Belgian potato chain by jointly investing in the online data platform WatchITgrow.

Last Friday, the European Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, mostly referred to as ScoPAFF voted an a proposal to ban Chlorpropham (or CIPC), widely used in the potato industry as sprout inhibitor during potato storage.

Late last month, the entire potato sector once again gathered en masse at INTERPOM | PRIMEURS at Kortrijk Xpo.