Catching up on contracted potato deliveries

The potato market remains under the influence of lower demand, expensive stocks, and a large harvest. Although the market mainly consists of contracts, the smaller free sales actually provide the music. The growers seize the contracts to reduce risks and cover costs, while growing free potatoes to earn money. With the current prices, the latter is simply not possible. The biggest problem at the moment is still finding a buyer for your product. Only in a few cases does the buyer grant a grower a (meager) bonus; there seems to simply be no more room at this time. A good relationship with the buyer occasionally pays off in this way. That relationship could also be a key to new contracts in 2026. In France, there are significant stocks of finished products, reports the French market news service RNM, which is part of the government agency FranceAgriMer. Currently, processors are mainly focused on catching up on the processing of contracted quantities. Additional supply potatoesFactories therefore only accept contracted potatoes, with some exceptional cases also including additional supply potatoes. For those potatoes, just like in the Netherlands, €1.50 is paid per 100 kilograms. In addition, limited quantities are also supplied to peeling companies for €1.50 to €2.50 per 100 kilograms. There is quite strict control. Due to the drought during the harvest period, there are relatively many problems with bruising. This sometimes leads to rejections. These potatoes are disposed of in animal feed or go to fermentation. For the French market service, however, the activities in the free potato market are too limited to compile a quotation. For a long time, no quotation has been established for frying potatoes. This season, RNM only reports one quotation, which was €3 per 100 kilograms on October 7. The last quotation for Fontane dates back to June of this year. Expensive stocks are an obstacleMoreover, France is not the only country where stocks impede smoother market operations. In the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, old stocks are also a massive hindrance. Due to a lack of demand, products remain unsold. The stocks were built up when processors still expected continuous growth. Now that sales are lagging, it only exacerbates the problem facing the market. Factories are operating at a lower capacity to prevent stocks from growing even larger. Breaks in production are extended to avoid creating too much finished product. As a result, factories operate less efficiently than under better circumstances. Furthermore, processors cannot benefit from cheap raw materials, as the harvest is so large due to massive expansions in area. The Belgian Belgapom now quotes €1.50 per 100 kilograms for the varieties Fontane and Challenger for the fourth consecutive week. The potato organizations Viaverda and Fiwap maintain a quotation of €0.50 to €1.50 per 100 kilograms. When free potatoes are traded, they are mostly over supplies. Moreover, there is little action on the export front, as potential buyers themselves have a large harvest. A band-aid solutionA small ray of hope is that PotatoNL has this week started a first quotation for Fontane. However, this is no more than a band-aid solution, as the prices for this variety are not better than in surrounding countries. For Fontane, PotatoNL starts at €1.50 per 100 kilograms. That price is also paid for additional supply potatoes, to the extent that they are taken. Processors claim they cannot use all those potatoes. No extra truck is sent for leftovers. Buyers prefer that the grower disposes of the potatoes elsewhere. This creates some room to collect other contracted potatoes and thus limit the backlog in collection. In short, the market remains stubbornly tough. For the time being, there is also not likely to be a direct change. Free potatoes for which there is no outlet or storage lie in makeshift storage. A roof, tarpaulin, and ventilation are unsuitable for storing potatoes for long. As long as there is no movement in the market or significant frost, these potatoes will remain above the market.