The European producers from the Northwest European Potato Growers Association -NEPG (Belgium, Holland, France and Germany) have announced their figures. Although the number of cultivated hectares is growing, the production volume will be lower. It is estimated that there will be around 511,000 hectares of cultivated surface area, meaning a 3.2% increase compared to the previous season and regarding the average over the past 5 years this means a 1.7% increase. The important increase of surface area planted in Holland is a unique case, where it has risen by almost 8% compared to 2021 figures.
Taking into consideration what could happen over successive months, the overall production by the countries belonging to the NEPG could range between 20 and 21 million tonnes.
Circumstances vary greatly between different regions or countries. The French and Belgian producers are more affected by this reduction in volumes, particularly the latter, which could reach figures of 20% less production. The Dutch were affected less by the heat wave, particularly in northern areas of the country, where rainfall has been more plentiful.
The general situation is quite complicated, particularly for those facing supply difficulties and who fear they will not be able to meet their contracts due to the limited yield.
The summer of 2022 will be remembered as a difficult season and a year of high costs, not only because the yield per hectare has been low, but because an important rise in energy and irrigation costs has been added to this situation.
Another of the future difficulties that could arise during the storage period is that germination could start early, which would cause greater difficulties for the operators. The weight losses of the tubers and the wastage levels (among other factors due to bruising) could be high.
Concern about contracts that have been signed
The contracts for the 2022-2023 campaign were signed at the beginning of the year, before the outbreak of the Ukraine war and the European economic situation was particularly centred on post-pandemic recovery. However, the conflict disrupted company economic forecasts, which from this moment onwards saw how their costs rose alarmingly. At present, these contracts signed by the producers do not cover the production costs.
The market price of 25 euros for 100 kilos no longer covers the production costs and the sword of Damocles is hanging over many producers, who demand that these costs should be shared out along the entire chain.
With these economic circumstances, plus the uncertainty hanging over the entire sector, many producers are considering several options such as a change of crop or simply throwing the towel in.
France is starting its exports ahead of schedule
The fear of a supply shortage by the French producers has meant that French potato exports have speeded up and will start earlier than expected.
“There is some apprehension about the possibility that the product volumes will be lower than are being commented officially and importers want to guarantee the product supply,” different buyers state.
On the other hand, the French operators are seeing that in addition to having to meet the market’s demands, they must maintain a price positioning that takes into account all the increases in costs seen in recent months.
