Preference for Innovator in Farm Frites contracts

The beloved fast food variety Innovator performs best in the fixed-price contracts of Farm Frites for the 2026 growing season. The price reduction is smaller than that of, for example, Fontane and Agria. The seed potato prices are also declining significantly. Last year, the company kept their fixed price contracts almost unchanged. This year is different, as it takes its own course. Fontane prices decrease across the board by €5.00 compared to season 2025/26. The harvest season for Fontane starts at a price level of €12.50 per 100 kilos. That is €22.45 in week 17 and in week 26, the variety reaches €24.30. Innovator sees the smallest price reduction of all varieties of €3.00. Here, the harvest period starts at €17.00 and reaches €26.70 in week 17. In week 26 (the last delivery week), this is €28.60. These prices exclude VAT and do not include compensation or premiums. From week 14, the company pays compensation for storage in mechanical cooling for this variety. For other varieties, that is from week 17. No click contract The company is not adjusting the delivery periods, which remain unchanged. This also applies to the start of the harvest season, which begins in week 27. For the variety Agria, the prices decrease by €5.00, and for Donata, with which Farm Frites has grown in volume in recent years, the reduction compared to last year is €4.50. In practice, this variety often underperforms in terms of yield and quality. It cannot keep up with Innovator, although it is slightly cheaper to grow. From the upcoming season, no click contracts can be concluded anymore, due to the poor functioning of the potato futures market. Optimization The seed potato prices remained unchanged last season, but this year there will be a reduction of around €500 per hectare, the company reports. According to the company, it is conducting an optimization among growers. This mainly concerns companies outside the core area in the Netherlands and Belgium. How this will work out exactly is left open by Farm Frites. Small print Growers who receive the contract should look closely at the 'other provisions'. These were modified last season and remain in place. It states that if a grower signs up for more than 40 tonnes per hectare, the seller is classified as a trader. This obliges him to deliver all contracted tonnes at all times. Farm Frites has the first right of purchase for the remaining potatoes from the indicative area, which is not unusual. This volume is settled at the day price. What is remarkable (at least for Dutch growers) is that the Belgapom quotation is used to determine a day price when the grower and buyer cannot reach an agreement. Extra remarkable, as the Belgian quotation does not have an Innovator category. Giving up margin To make European fries competitive again, everyone in the chain must give up margin, it is said. This applies to the factory, seed potato supplier, and thus also the potato grower. However, the sale of fries has stabilized and is no longer declining, according to the company. With these price corrections, it hopes to be competitive again regarding potato raw material.