MARKET conditions are not as dire as many are suggesting, according to the CEO of Belgapom, the Belgian potato trade and processing industry association.
Although the market is unsettled and free market transactions are scarce, contract negotiations are ongoing, and exports are being refocused, according to the organisation’s CEO Christophe Vermeulen.
Uncontracted potatoes in storage may end up as surplus by the end of the season, but contracts are being honoured, he added, stating that growers who had relied entirely on the free market were those that are suffering.
Competition from Asia and Egypt, among others, is affecting exports, while the Trump administration’s tariffs are having an effect on exports to the USA. However new opportunities are arising, he said, with Latin America being a potentially important market for the future, a new trade deal with India being forged and a possible trade deal with Australia being revived.
