THE demand for free-buy supplies of potatoes in the EU remains robust, but the supply is tightening, according to Mintec Analytics.
Last year's wet harvest is the culprint, with many growers no longer having sufficient stocks to offer on the free-buy market because of quality issues that compromised storability.
To top up contracted supplies, buyers must increase their prices to incentivise growers to sell. At the end of February 2024, the Mintec Benchmark Price (MBP) for Dutch processing potatoes reached €37.5/100kg, the highest price for February since the price series began in 2014. According to market sources, limited supply is expected to continue to support prices as the market year progresses.
In the Netherlands, signs of the shortage are becoming apparent in the processing industry. VAVI, the processing organisation in the Netherlands, processed 321.6 thousand tonnes of potatoes in January 2024, a decrease of 10.8% compared to the previous year . There has been a shortage of processing potatoes owing to the challenges in obtaining them from suppliers. Dutch processing is becoming more reliant on supply from neighboring countries. In January 2024, 33.2% of the total supply was imported, compared to 21.4% of imports in January 2023.
A significant amount of potatoes were left in saturated ground for an extended period of time. The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) has estimated that 650 thousand tonnes were lost during harvesting or left in the ground and did not reach the market.
The potatoes which were harvested during the wet conditions were no longer suitable for long-term storage. As a result, the availability of uncontracted supplies is very tight and processors have been competing with each other for the limited stocks, which has continued to push up prices.
Source: Mintec Analytics
